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Sardis: A Church That Was Lifeless | Revelation 3:1-6 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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With excitement, I invite you to the Book of Revelation in
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chapter 3, and I trust that you have a copy of God's Word with
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you today. And if you don't own a Bible,
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come see me after the service. Want to be able to provide you
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one? Can you believe that we are
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already in chapter 3 of the Book of Revelation?
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Let's begin by reading what the Lord Jesus Christ says to the
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church in Sardis and verse one down to verse 6 and to the Angel
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of the church in Sardis, write the words of him who has the
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seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
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I know your works. You have a reputation of being
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alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen what
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remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works
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complete in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received
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and heard. Keep it and repent.
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If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will
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not know at what hour I will come against you.
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Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not
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soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for
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they are worthy. The one who conquers will be
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clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot His name
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out of the Book of life. I will confess His name before
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my Father and before His angels. He was an ear.
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Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
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It's helpful to remember that as we're studying these letters
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that we are almost done. When Christ introduces Himself
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in each of these addresses, He does so specifically tailored to
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the situation of the church. And in the case of the church in
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Sardis, we don't have to wait very long to know what the
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problem is. I'm not sure if you notice, but
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Christ does not offer a single word of commendation to this
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congregation. Not one word of praise, not one
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word of encouragement for their present condition.
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He goes directly to criticism. He does not waste any time.
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And the summary of what was wrong with this assembly can be
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defined in three words. You are dead.
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What characterized this ministry was that they were spiritually
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dead. There was no life and
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recognizing this provides critical insight into the self
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descriptions that Christ employs at the outset of the message.
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Look back at verse one with me to the Angel of the church in
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Sardis, write the words of him who has the seven spirits of God
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and the seven stars. So when I read that, I think to
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myself, OK, we're dealing with a dead church here.
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Have you ever been to 1? We're dealing with a lifeless
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congregation. So why is it that the Lord Jesus
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chooses to describe and highlight these attributes about
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himself? What's the relevance?
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What's the connection? A little investigation will give
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us the answers. So let's divide this.
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Where did we last see the mention of the seven spirits of
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God? Well, if you've been with us
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from the beginning, then you know it's back in chapter 1 at
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the Trinitarian introduction of the whole book.
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So look with me here. Revelation chapter one, verse 4.
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John to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and
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peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from
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the seven spirits who are before his throne and from Jesus
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Christ, the faithful witness, the first born of the dead and
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the ruler of kings on earth. So where we have here what the
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Father who is, who was and who is to come, we have the Son
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right, Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, and between we
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have the seven spirits who are before his throne.
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Now we learned this in chapter one that in no way is John
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teaching that we believe that there are 7 distinct beings,
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spiritual beings who are in equal standing with the Father
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and the Son. We believe in one Holy Spirit.
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But we must also remember that the Book of Revelation, as you
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and I study this, we must not forget that this book is
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dripping with Old Testament references and allusions.
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It is saturated in them. And so then we have to look at
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something like Revelation 1/4 and five and ask is there
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anything in the Hebrew Scriptures that might bring
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clarity of to what John is saying here, what he's
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describing And there is John is borrowing from Isaiah, the
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prophets representation of the Holy Spirit's ministry from
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Isaiah Chapter 11. Do you remember that?
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We're in Chapter 11, we're told about the Messiah and the Spirit
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that would rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and counsel,
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spirit of understanding, the spirit of the fear of the Lord,
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etcetera. So what John is doing here is
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he's mentioning, yes, these seven spirits, but not speaking
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about 7 separate beings. He's referring to the perfect
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qualities and abilities of the one and only Holy Spirit, the
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fullness of the Holy Spirit. With this in mind, now we
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understand, I'm sure, why Christ is bringing this up to this
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church. He is signaling to this dead
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church that He possesses what they need, The invigorating
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ministry of the Holy Spirit. The fullness of the power and
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the work of the Holy Spirit. Here's what we have to
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understand The bottom line of spiritual death in a church
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results from quenching or grieving the Holy Spirit,
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whereas the vitality of a church is sustained when the Spirit is
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actively working in and through its members.
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And this is absolutely true. A church is always in trouble
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when it becomes less mindful of its need of the Holy Spirit.
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I mentioned prayer meeting every week in our announcements and we
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will do so by the grace of God as long as we are a church.
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Pray every week and almost every week we take time as a church.
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Whether we have 5202550 who show up to pray for the different
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ministries of Maranatha Bible Church.
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Do you know why? Because we wholeheartedly
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believe that apart from God's hand on, no matter what we do,
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we will not know true impact. We need the Holy Spirit of God.
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We need his help. We need his wisdom, we need his
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energy, we need his unifying grace.
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We need the Holy Spirit. And when any group of Christians
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feel as though they are not as dependent or that they can just
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go through the routine, their established standard settings,
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they're in trouble. They're in trouble.
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But that's not the only thing that puts the pulse of a church
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at risk, because Jesus says that He also has the seven stars, not
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just the seven spirits of God, but the seven stars.
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What is he referring to there? Well, again, the answer is back
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in chapter 1. In chapter 1, verse 20, we're
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told that the seven stars speak of the seven angels of the
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churches. And we remember when we studied
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that, did we not, that the Angel speaks of the overseers of every
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church, because the word in the original there can, it speaks of
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messengers, and that can also be applied to human messengers.
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So these seven stars are the pastors of these churches, the
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bishops, the elders, all synonymous terms.
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So why is Jesus telling this church, not only do I possess
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what you need, the fullness of the work of the Holy Spirit, I
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also have the pastors in my hand.
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Here's what I believe. Because in many instances the
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apathy of a church can be attributed to the spiritual
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dryness of its leader or leaders.
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Here's the general rule. As the pastor is, so will his
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church be. If the pastor does not pray,
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then he should not expect his people to be passionate about
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prayer. If the pastor is not relishing
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and revering the Word of God, then the people under his care
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will also see little to no value for it.
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The pastor is not passionate about pursuing personal holiness
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about loving Christ in private. And should he expect those that
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he is called to lead to have that vision for themselves?
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If a pastor has no concern for the lost, why should he have any
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idea that the people that he is called to serve with will have a
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concern for the world? A pastor, whether he realizes it
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or not, sets the spiritual temperature of the House of God
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he's been entrusted with. And it could be that the reason
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why Jesus brings up the seven stars here is because the elders
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are greatly responsible for the deadness of their church.
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Pray for pastors. Pray for their families.
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I'm not saying that because I serve here as an elder.
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I'm saying that as an objective reality.
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Pray for them. Because although each of us will
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be responsible for our own spiritual vitality, there is so
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much that depends on those who are called to lead.
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And this is a consistent truth throughout Scripture.
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I'm reminded of the book of Haggai.
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Have you heard of it? I hope so.
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It's a it's a small book. And Haggai was sent by God to
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the people of Israel who returned from exile in Babylon.
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And one of their primary duties was to rebuild the temple.
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But at some point, it became dormant.
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Situations require them to put a pause on the project, but they
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allow that pause to now redirect their pursuit of placing the
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Kingdom of God first. And they got caught up with
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their own advancements and ideas and desires.
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So Haggai was said to say, hey, hey, hey, this is not the time
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to do renovations with your house because that's what they
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were doing. Nothing wrong with renovations
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at home, by the way, but the House of God is still in rubble.
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There needs to be a shift of priority here.
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That's what Haggai's message was.
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But I want you to see what happens after Haggai preaches to
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this generation of Israelites with its leaders.
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Haggai chapter 1, let's go to that together.
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I want you to just see one verse to confirm the importance of
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leaders and their spiritual health.
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Haggai chapter 1 and verse 14. And the Lord stirred up the
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spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shell TL, governor of Judah, and
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the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehovah, Zadak the high priest,
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and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.
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And they came and worked on the House of the Lord of hosts,
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their God. Read your Bible slowly.
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Whose spirits were stirred first, the remnant or the
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leaders? The leaders.
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It was the high priest, it was the governor who were moved in
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their soul. And only then were the people
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moved in their souls. So as the pastor is, so will his
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church be. Pray for your pastors to stay
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close to Christ. Pray that they would not become
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stale. Pray that they would not become
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jaded because sometimes sheep bite the hand that feeds them.
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Pray that they would continue to operate in the power of the Holy
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Spirit and not rely on some personality or charisma that can
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work in some marketing field. Pray for your pastors.
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And the letter to the Christians in Sardis serves as a warning
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and encouragement to elders. The caution is that he who has
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A7 SARS can do as he pleases with them.
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Which means if the death of a church is encouraged by the
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lethargy of an elder, then Christ may as a solution remove
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that elder and replace him in order to preserve that church.
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But the encouragement is that an elder who may feel that dryness,
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he has to believe and trust that Christ can supply the grace to
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rejuvenate him. So the same one who has this
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seven stars also has what they need, the power of the Holy
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Spirit to keep them and sustain them until the end.
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And as an over full bless the people that they are facing
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every week. And so he tells this church, I
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have the seven spirits, I have what you need.
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We can't move on from verse one unless we answer this key
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question. What makes a church dead?
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We throw that around sometimes. Oh yeah, I went to it was a dead
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meeting. Oh, then what does it mean for a
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church to be dead? And we should want to know that
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because this is what Christ says of this church.
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And we can go to many places in the Bible to try to find
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answers, but I wanted to just look at this letter.
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Are there any clues in these 6 verses that can indicate to me
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the autopsy of a dead church? And there is.
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Here's what you and I are going to leave with today.
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You and I are going to know 2 qualities that makes a church
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dead and also makes a Christian dead.
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The first one is inactivity. Inactivity, the lack of
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movement, the lack of motion, the lack of activity.
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Look again here at verse 2 he says that he knows their works
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in verse one that they have a reputation of being alive, but
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you are dead. Verse 2, wake up and strengthen
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what remains and is about to die for I have not found your works
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complete in the sight of my God. The second part, I have not
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found your works complete in the sight of my God.
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They were deficient, they were weak, they were waning in their
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works. There's not the Christ doesn't
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admire anything about this assembly.
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You know, there are different churches that we've studied
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where yes, they tolerated false teaching or they were doing this
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wrong, or maybe their heart was in the wrong place, but at least
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there was movement. Well, look at the the last
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church that we studied back in chapter 2, verse 19, the church
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in Thyatira. Notice what Christ says.
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Notice what he commends them for before he corrects them.
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Revelation 219. I know your works, your love and
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faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter
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works exceed the first. Listen.
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This church tolerated false teaching.
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But they had they had things going on, growing acts of
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service, a commendable attitude toward other Christians.
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Sardis. Nothing.
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It was a congregation filled with spiritual corpses, a
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graveyard. You see, the question isn't
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whether people are present. Even a cadaver can have clothes
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on. It's whether they are present
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and alive. Is there breath?
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Is there warmth? Is there a flow of blood?
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This church? No.
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Can a dead man talk? No.
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And in the same way, one of the qualities of a dead church is
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that it does not pray, doesn't talk to God, doesn't cry out to
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God, doesn't commune with God. Can a dead man move its hands?
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Negative. And in like manner, a church
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that does not actively extend its efforts to serve in
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different capacities, to invest in people's lives in and outside
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of that church is dead. Can a dead man walk?
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No, dead man can't walk. And like a dead man who can't
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walk, a dead church doesn't step outside of the four walls of the
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building that they meet in every week.
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They don't reach out to the laws.
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They don't go to where people are trapped in darkness.
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They have no concern about shining the light of the gospel.
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It's just every man for himself. And that's an interesting
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thought because you don't find any encouragement from Jesus for
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this church to persevere in the midst of persecution, to hold
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on, to stand fast. And this could be the reason why
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they weren't doing anything as a church to cause righteous
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disturbance. They were just that little
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church in the corner and nobody knows really what's going on
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there. Sometimes there's cars in the
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parking lot, but but there's but there's no life.
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There's no observable things happening.
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People aren't being touched. People aren't being reached.
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There's no growth. There's no reproduction.
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Inactivity is a sure sign of a dead church.
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But I told you there are two things.
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Insensitivity. What do I mean by that?
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The church in Sardis was careless about sin.
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How do I know that? Look again at verse 4.
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Jesus says, yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who
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have not soiled their garments, garments and the Scriptures in
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many cases speaks of character. And he says there are some of
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you there who have not soiled their garments and they will
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walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
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We won't impact that in a moment.
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What does this imply? That a majority have soiled
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their garments? That they are stained with
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patterns of disobedience. So what I learned from this here
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is that a church is a dead church when the group of people
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in that church have no vision for holiness.
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Personal worship is not addressed in preaching.
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There's neither inspiration nor accountability among members for
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Christ's likeness. And preparation for eternity is
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entirely absent in both thought and conversation in that
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community. And what a stark contrast to
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church in Sardis is to the growing church in the book of
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Acts. Do you want to know the growth
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program of the church in the book of Acts?
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I'll give you at least a couple of things.
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In Acts 931, we're told of an episode in the church in its
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early phases, that new explosive increase in multiplication.
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And we're told how it grew. In Acts 931, So the church
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throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, and was
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being built up. And walking in the fear of the
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Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
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And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the
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Holy Spirit, what happened? It multiplied.
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You have many people who advocate that the atmosphere of
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a church should be 1. Of healing and consolation,
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right. We often hear there's a church
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should be a hospital. It's not a museum for Saints.
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It's a hospital for the sick. Yeah, absolutely.
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But a good hospital heals people.
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They don't just manage sick people.
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And so we learned here that the early church, listen, they knew
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the comfort of the Holy Spirit. We want that.
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And I'm not saying that's wrong. I'm not saying that we shouldn't
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have a place here where there is encouragement in a building.
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You should leave here. Every single meeting more built
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up than when you came in. That's the fruit of true
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ministry. And so, yes, we want the comfort
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of the Holy Spirit. I want that.
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But what comes before the comfort of the Holy Spirit?
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The manifest working of the Holy Spirit, The people choosing to
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walk in the fear of the Lord. You can't have one without the
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other. Before the Holy Spirit moved in
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that church and its presence was tangible and touching people.
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The people made a conscious decision.
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We are going to stand in awe of God.
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Here's what I argue. You don't want to walk in the
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fear of the Lord. Don't expect the Holy Spirit to
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comfort and to do what only He can do in the heart of of a
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broken person walking in the fear of the Lord.
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You know how you fear God when you hate sin?
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That's one of the marks of fear and God.
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According to Proverbs 813, the fear of the Lord is the hatred
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of evil. So when you stand in awe of God,
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it caused you to repulse and reject that which grieves his
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heart. You've heard me say that many
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times. I will not stay on this point
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too long. All I want to say is that the
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autopsy of a dead church is 2 things.
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It's a company. People that are inactive and
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meaningful deeds and don't care about being like Christ.
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That's not an ambition, it's just.
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We're here, we'll hear, we won't obey.
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And just we checked off the box. That's a dead church.
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That's a dead church. And here's a thought that we
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can't afford to miss. No church starts out like
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Sardis. Whenever a ministry begins,
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there's always a level of excitement and commitment,
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right? Always.
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But that needs to be maintained and guarded.
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And what you have here is that Jesus says precisely that you
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have a reputation of being alive, but you're dead.
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In other words, at one point you were active.
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At one point you didn't care. You did come to the House of God
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with with the goal of I want to be like Christ.
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I want to know more of Christ. I want to be around people who
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adore Christ. That was there.
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It's no longer there. They fell asleep, and that's
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what we find here in verse 2. Let's come back to our main tax.
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Because Christ, now he uses death and sleep interchangeably
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to speak of spiritual lifelessness.
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The Bible does this throughout the New Testament, even the Old.
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But praise God. Christ doesn't just condemn the
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deadness of this church. He provides a remedy.
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He provides a plan for revival. Listen, the only way a church
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can resurrect from its deadness is if each member of that church
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chooses to obey what Jesus directs in the following verses.
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For a church to know life again requires 3 things according to
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Jesus and the first thing is found in verse 2, the 1st 2
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words Wake up, wake up. What does it mean by waking up?
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I mean, like, we know that wake up, wake up, wake up, OK.
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What does waking up from devotional slumber practically
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look like? That's what we should be asking,
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and we have an answer. It's a shift of a mindset.
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To wake up is a sobering realization that I am not in the
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right state and I want to do something about it.
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So wake up means that I'm acknowledging that I have become
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dormant. I'm acknowledging that my
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practical service is non existent.
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I'm acknowledging that I don't think about pursuing greater
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sanctification non existent in my thinking.
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And then from that place of honesty, becoming willing to
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make the necessary changes to be where Christ wants you to be.
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That's what it means to wake up and listen.
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If we're if we're transparent, even the first step is very
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difficult for people to accept. Why?
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For the same reason why it's hard to wake some people up from
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natural sleep. They're comfortable, they're
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warm. And here's what you have to
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understand. Some people don't want to wake
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up. Some people don't want to
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acknowledge. I'm just, I'm just floating
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here. I'm I'm just, there's nothing.
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There's no heartbeat. There's no willingness to grow
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these muscles. I'm just just here because
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people don't want to reprioritize.
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People don't want to add and subtract to their established
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routine. People are very much comfortable
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in the bed of unchallenged Christianity.
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Well, it's your choice. Christ can't pull you out of bed
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necessarily. It's only when you and I decide
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I don't, I don't want to sleep in in my faith anymore.
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You know, one of the problems of sleeping in is that you miss out
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on life and you and I have to come to that same revelation.
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I I no longer want to miss out on what Christ has for me in the
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fullness of the Christian life. I'm going to get out of bed and
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OK, what do I need to do now? Well, once you decide to wake
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up, you come to step #2 that's what Jesus says in the rest of
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the verse 2. And strengthen what remains and
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is about to die. Strengthen what remains.
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So there's still like it hasn't completely flatlined.
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There are some signs of life. And so he says, I need you to
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recognize the attitudes and the actions that are still there
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that are fading and take intentional steps to revive
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them. So here's what Jesus not me.
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No, no, no, no, no. Here's what the Lord Jesus
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Christ says to each of us. What is fading in your life?
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What is losing its influence in your life?
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What's becoming hollow? What are you losing a grip on?
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What's slipping away? Is it your fellowship of the
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Lord? Is it your involvement in the
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church that you're a part of? Is it your mindfulness of being
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a witness to the loss as you engage with the world in various
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ways? What?
28:00
What is it that's dying that once was there, prevalent and
28:06
true, a joyful delight? And once you assess where you
28:11
are weak, consider how to inspire momentum in those areas
28:14
again. You know what?
28:17
One way you can catch fire? Get around people who are
28:21
already burning. Sometimes all it takes is a
28:25
phone call with somebody who loves the Bible for you to have
28:30
an appetite for the Bible. Is that just me?
28:35
It's amazing how much passion can be a contagious thing, but
28:39
Christ provides the primary catalyst.
28:41
And that's step number three. Once you wake up and once you
28:44
say, OK, OK, I want to actually be in the will of God here and
28:48
you strengthen. You seek to strengthen what
28:50
remains. Christ now provides one of the
28:53
first things to launch you in the right place, and it's in
28:57
verse 3. Remember then what you have
28:59
received and heard. Keep it and repent.
29:03
Let's stop there. Remember, remember, remember
29:06
what? Remember at one point you heard
29:10
something and you no longer listened.
29:15
So this isn't a mystery. At some point, this congregation
29:18
with its leaders lost touch with the Word of God.
29:22
Is it possible for a church to lose touch with the Word of God?
29:25
It's a plague today. So you need to all remember what
29:30
you received at first. Remember the gospel that you
29:32
received at first, the teaching, the doctrine of the apostles
29:35
that instructed you, that once nourished you and sustained you.
29:38
You got to remember that and you got to go back to that.
29:42
And then not, not just remember, you got to keep it.
29:44
You got to be willing to say the Word of God is going to have
29:47
authority over my life. Once again, listen, it's very
29:51
difficult for a church to be dying when there is consistent
29:55
preaching and teaching of the Word of God in the power of the
29:58
Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 663, the
30:04
words that I've spoken to you are spirit and life in the same
30:11
Lord. Jesus is calling this church to
30:14
go back to engaging and treasuring the Word of God on a
30:17
personal and corporate level. I was sharing this verse with
30:20
more than one person after Bible study on Friday and maybe I
30:24
should share it with us here on this Sunday just a few pages
30:27
back. Look at first John, the same
30:29
John who wrote the Book of Revelation.
30:31
I want you to look at verse 14. Perhaps someone needs to also
30:34
know this and be reassured of the vitality comes from the
30:39
Bible. In First John 214 John takes
30:43
this segment and he speaks to different audiences of
30:46
Christians who are a different level of spiritual formation.
30:49
Some are children, some are young men, some are fathers in
30:52
the faith. But notice what he says to young
30:54
men in verse 14 of First John 2. I write to you fathers, because
30:58
you know him who is from the beginning.
31:00
I write to you, young men, because you are strong.
31:03
Why are you strong, young men? In your spirit?
31:06
And the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the
31:12
evil. 1. Do you see the recipe?
31:15
Do you want to be strong in your spirit?
31:20
You need the Word of God, and only in the Word of God do you
31:22
know your strength, and only in that kind of strength can you
31:25
overcome the evil. 1 So you can't separate life in the
31:32
Spirit with the words in your Bible, digesting them, receiving
31:38
them, meditating on them. John says you're strong for one
31:42
main reason, because the Word of God abides in you.
31:45
I abide in a certain suburb personally.
31:48
What does that mean? I live there, I remain there.
31:51
That's my abode. And in the same way, only the
31:53
strength can be known when the Bible lives in you.
31:58
You can't dip your toe in the Bible on no strength.
32:01
You got to dive in. You can't nibble on a few
32:04
verses. You got a feast, you can't sip
32:07
it when you feel like it, you got to drink it.
32:11
It has to abide in you, and only then will you be able to be
32:14
strong and overcome the evil. 1 And I love the next part.
32:18
People separate the next part from the point that he makes
32:21
here. In what way can we overcome the
32:23
evil one? Look what he says in verse 15.
32:25
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
32:29
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in
32:31
him, for all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh
32:33
and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from
32:36
the Father, but is from the world.
32:39
And the world is passing away along with its desires.
32:41
But whoever does the will of God abides forever.
32:44
So right after John says you're strong because the word of God
32:47
abides and you're able to overcome the evil, 1 he tells us
32:50
the things that we will overcome because you have the word of God
32:53
in you, the love of the world, the things in the world.
32:59
Because when you see the beauty in this book, because it reveals
33:03
the glory of God. And when you see these promises
33:05
and the spiritual treasures that are available and you see the
33:08
blueprint for true life, the things around you grow strangely
33:13
dim. I can tell you one thing, if I'm
33:19
attracted to the world and the things of this world, if the
33:22
desires of my flesh are strong and the desires of my eyes are
33:24
more potent and the pride of life is inflating in my heart,
33:28
I'm I'm weak somewhere in the word of God abiding in me.
33:33
Church and Sardis, remember what you once heard.
33:35
Get back to it. That's the only pathway to true
33:39
life again. Now we come back because Christ
33:45
is something astounding. He offers a warning for those
33:53
who choose to sleep in and the second part of verse 3, if you
34:00
will not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not
34:02
know at what hour I will come against you.
34:05
Jesus is not speaking to the world, He's speaking to the
34:08
church. And it's a regular occurrence
34:13
that when Christ speaks about coming like a thief, he's not a
34:16
thief. He comes like a thief.
34:19
It speaks of his second coming, but in this occurrence has a
34:24
different application, speaks of impending judgement locally.
34:30
I will come to you personally as a church even while you're
34:34
asleep unannounced. It's going to be a surprise, and
34:38
I'm going to deal with the situation myself.
34:43
I'm going to deal with the seven stars and I'm going to deal with
34:45
those who have soiled their garments because they've been
34:47
spiritually asleep. I will do something about it if
34:49
you will not. And I'm sure the curious mind
34:53
might be thinking what? What does it mean that he'll
34:55
come like a thief to a church ready for this?
34:59
I don't know. But here's what I do know.
35:03
I don't want Maranatha Bible Church to become a church that
35:05
finds out. That's my application from this.
35:13
I don't want to find out. I want to stay awake.
35:18
And when you combine this ultimatum with Christ's words to
35:21
the church in Ephesus, remember that church that lost their
35:23
first love, forsaken their first love?
35:25
I learned at least one thing. It's clear the Lord will not
35:28
tolerate a church that is loveless and lifeless.
35:33
He doesn't. To our shock, there are some in
35:42
this church who have been awake all along.
35:47
It's possible for a dead church to have a remnant of living
35:50
people. You know what's scarier, though?
35:54
That in a living church you have a pocket of people who are dead.
35:59
That's another message for another time.
36:01
But look at verse four with me now in Revelation 3-4.
36:04
You have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not
36:08
soiled their garments. And they will walk with me in
36:10
white, for they are worthy. Wow, I try to put myself in the
36:17
sandals of these Christians, this remnant in this church in
36:21
Sardis and what it must have felt like, what kind of thrill
36:27
shot through their soul when this letter that by way of
36:31
history we know the practice was the letter would be read aloud
36:34
to the entire congregation. Imagine this, you are dead, and
36:40
then it comes to this point, yet you still have a few names in
36:43
Sardis who have not soiled their garments.
36:45
What was it like to know as a person in that church who's been
36:48
praying for revival in that church, as walking faithfully
36:53
and not allowing the dampening influence of that dry
36:55
environment to have an effect on them?
36:58
What was it like to hear Jesus Christ saying, What did he say?
37:01
You have a few names. He knows my name.
37:09
He knows my name. It's different when somebody
37:14
calls you by your name, is it not?
37:16
It's a different force to it, different impact.
37:22
Jesus Christ knows your name. And in the same letter, one day
37:28
he's going to confess that name. Father Daniel Batarse belongs to
37:35
me. Wow, what a thrill that's going
37:39
to be. But it doesn't just say that he
37:43
knows our names for then. He says I know your name Now
37:46
he's aware of me. He sees the fact that I want to
37:52
live for him and I want to love him and I and I am striving to
37:55
serve him. Was it a group of friends in
37:57
that church that had no way to go to a different congregation,
38:00
so they just try to do what they can with the church that they
38:03
are a part of. Was it a couple of families?
38:05
We're not told they are promised a particular reward.
38:10
They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
38:14
It's one thing for him to say that they will be dressed in
38:16
white. He says no, no, one day they
38:19
will walk with me. That speaks of intimacy.
38:22
Have you noticed the pattern of how many of these rewards in
38:24
the, the, the letters to these churches have to do with
38:26
intimacy with God? They will walk with me.
38:30
You might have felt alone, you remnant in that church in
38:34
Sardis. Nobody gets your zeal, nobody
38:36
understands your fervor. And here you are trying to just
38:40
do the best you can to love Christ.
38:43
Here's what Jesus says. There's a day coming where I'm
38:45
going to draw you close to myself and I'm going to honor
38:47
you for how you honored me even in a place where people did not
38:51
honor me. But it's not the only thing that
38:56
Jesus says. He says in verse 5, the one who
39:01
conquers will be clothed us in white garments, and I will never
39:05
blot his name out of the book of life.
39:08
I have a feeling that some people were waiting for all
39:12
those other verses to be explained for this verse to be
39:16
expounded on. I understand this verse has
39:23
caused a lot of trouble for people, a lot of turmoil, even
39:28
torment. But I want to answer it slowly.
39:33
Jesus says I will never blot out his name out of the book of
39:36
life. What's the book of life?
39:40
It's not difficult to understand.
39:41
What the Bible reveals about the book of life is that it is this
39:44
register of the names of the redeemed.
39:48
It is this archive of names. Who will have eternal life and
39:54
who will be exempt? Who will be spared from the lake
39:56
of fire that is the book of life.
39:59
And there's debate about how the Book of Life works.
40:02
There are some people who believe that to have your name
40:04
inserted in that book of life happens the moment that you
40:08
confess Jesus Christ as Lord and there are others who would say
40:13
no. The names of every single living
40:16
person are found in the book of life and are embedded in that
40:22
book once they place their faith in Jesus Christ.
40:27
And those who those who have not put their faith in Jesus Christ
40:30
will have their names remove. And the reason why they make
40:33
this argument is because the general observation in Scripture
40:36
is that the names in the book of life are typically blotted out,
40:39
not written in. We can leave that debate for
40:45
another day because that's not the main concern people have
40:48
when they come across this verse.
40:50
What people really want to know with what Jesus says here is, is
40:53
it possible for those who are truly saved to have their names
40:56
blotted out of the book of life as a result of unfaithfulness?
41:02
Let me say it plainly. Can you lose your salvation
41:04
based on this verse? Because that's what it seems to
41:08
infer. The one who conquers will be
41:11
clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot out His
41:14
name out of the book of Life. You can make a whole sermon out
41:19
of this verse, can you not? Absolutely.
41:23
We don't have to go that far today.
41:27
Did you know that Jesus meant to give this as a source of
41:30
comfort? And it's so sad to know that
41:35
many are confused by it or been led to be confused by it when it
41:40
was intended to reassure the Christian.
41:44
And as always, when interpreting a verse, you have to honor the
41:48
context. You can make any passage, say
41:51
almost anything by removing it from what it is connected to.
41:56
So you have to understand what is happening to and around this
41:59
church, what's going on with this letter that brings light to
42:02
this one text? And here's the first step in
42:06
understanding what Jesus saying. We have to determine something.
42:09
Is Christ still warning the church in Sardis, or is he now
42:14
moved on to promising reward? Answer promising reward.
42:21
He's no longer threatening this church.
42:23
He already did that earlier. So right away we have to
42:26
determine this. This is a positive note, not a
42:29
-1. This is meant to provide peace,
42:35
not to shake people. And here's how we understand
42:41
this. The next question now is, so
42:45
then, if this is a good thing, if this is a report of good
42:48
news, what does understanding my name in the book of life have to
42:54
do with the church here? In other words, what does Christ
43:00
promise your have to do with the church's situation?
43:05
And I believe this is the answer, and it may not resonate
43:08
with us as much as Christians in the West.
43:11
What was the problem of this church?
43:12
They were dead generally. They were lifeless.
43:16
And one possible reason why Christians back then and even
43:21
today in some parts of the world don't live out fully their faith
43:26
is because they're afraid. There's a price for living out
43:31
your faith with passion and vision and the power of the Holy
43:35
Spirit. There's a cost.
43:40
And again, remember, Jesus doesn't applaud them for
43:43
standing firm. Jesus doesn't point out any kind
43:46
of external issue. Why?
43:48
Because they're dead, they're not doing anything.
43:53
And it could be that one reason is that they became comfortable
43:56
in that state. They're not bothering anybody.
43:59
Nobody's bothering them. And what's interesting about
44:04
this letter is that there's a word play.
44:06
What did Jesus say in Revelation 35I will never blot out his name
44:10
out of the book of life. And the word name comes up more
44:14
than once in this one letter. In fact, if you have the King
44:17
James Version, when I read to you verse 1, you would have
44:20
noticed a difference. It says there in the second part
44:23
of verse one, I know your works. You have the reputation of being
44:27
alive. That word reputation is the same
44:29
Greek word for name Onoma. The King James writes out name
44:35
instead of reputation in that verse and some would interpret
44:40
when Jesus says I know your works, you have a reputation of
44:42
being live. We're applying it as they had
44:44
this past and the present no longer correlates.
44:47
It's a different present. They're dead.
44:49
They were alive. They're no longer alive.
44:51
A secondary application is that they were at rest with their
44:55
reputation of seemingly being alive when in fact they were
44:58
according to Christ dead. So those around you, you're a
45:01
nice group of Christians. Oh, you do a little maybe
45:05
community service here and there, but not with the
45:07
redemptive goal of shining the light of the gospel.
45:10
Oh, you might. OK.
45:11
You're just a group of Christians.
45:12
You do your thing. You have this wonderful
45:15
reputation. I think a lot more people would
45:19
like Christians if they didn't speak the gospel, didn't expose
45:22
darkness. And so he says here, I know your
45:26
words. You have a name of being alive
45:29
and you're comfortable with your reputation.
45:33
And so these Christians were at rest with their state, and Jesus
45:37
says no. I want to let you know though,
45:39
if you overcome, if you live the faith that Christ has called you
45:42
to live, I'm promising you this. Though you may be cancelled by
45:47
society, though you may be fired, though you may be
45:50
ostracized, though you may be marginalized, Here's my promise
45:53
to those who live the way that the gospel cause you to live.
45:56
I will never blot out your name. I will never delete your name.
46:02
I will never remove you. You have the assurance of my
46:05
acceptance. If anything, this is a verse
46:07
talking about security to a bunch of Christians who were
46:13
were not living the overcoming Christian life, perhaps because
46:17
they were fearful of the ramifications and what Christ
46:20
says to them. Listen to the one who overcomes.
46:22
Understand this. I will never know, not ever.
46:24
Blot your name out of the Book of Life.
46:29
Your name is in the Book of life.
46:31
Live like it. And if there's any temptation to
46:37
believe that a Christian can so underperform in their
46:42
Christianity or sin in such a way that they are able to erase
46:48
their identity in that registry, you're going to have trouble
46:53
reconciling that conclusion with other verses about the Book of
46:56
Life. Can I give you one example?
46:59
It's only mentioned so few times in the New Testament.
47:02
One of them is actually found in Paul's epistle to the
47:05
Philippians. Go to Philippians chapter 4
47:08
quickly. I want you to see what happens
47:11
when Paul is speaking about a problem between two Christians
47:14
in this church in Philippians 4, two to three.
47:26
I entreat Aeodia and I entreat Sinteki to agree in the Lord.
47:32
Pause. So Paul names two women in the
47:35
church who have a dispute. There's animosity there, and I
47:40
don't think it's a small one because Paul wouldn't include it
47:42
in the letter and had that read letter read publicly to the
47:45
church. Evidently, whatever was going on
47:47
between these two women, it was bringing discord to the entire
47:51
assembly. It was causing friction to the
47:53
whole congregation. So Paul highlights it.
47:55
He calls it out. He goes, you too.
47:57
I'm calling you to agree in the Lord and notice how he describes
48:00
him. Yes, I ask you also, true
48:02
companion, help these women who have labored side by side with
48:07
me in the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my
48:11
fellow workers whose names are in the book of life.
48:18
So you have these two women who were causing problems in the
48:23
church. They were irritating the peace
48:27
and the unity of that place. And this is evidently A
48:31
struggle. This is evidently wrong.
48:33
And yet in the same context, Paul includes these women with
48:39
others in that church whose names are in the Book of life.
48:46
So struggling in my faith doesn't get me rejected.
48:51
Salvation is not a revolving door.
48:53
One week you're in. Oh you're causing problems you
48:55
idea and the church. Maybe you're out when Christ
49:00
writes our names in the book of life.
49:02
He doesn't do so with pencil. He doesn't even do it with ink.
49:05
He does it with his blood. These two believers conflict
49:14
contention outside of character of Christ likeness in the season
49:18
of their lives, and yet Paul still says you're in the book of
49:22
life. In fact, when you go to
49:26
Revelation, this is where we're going to land.
49:29
You get a couple of hints in different parts of that same
49:32
book where you actually see that perseverance is a result of
49:37
being in the book of life. Can I show that to you?
49:39
Let's go to Revelation 13. Revelation 13 is about the
49:43
Antichrist. I'm sure we're excited for that
49:46
chapter. Look at verse 7 of Revelation
49:53
13. Also, it was allowed to make war
49:59
on the Saints of the conquer them, and authority was given it
50:02
over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who
50:05
dwell on the earth will worship it.
50:07
Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of
50:13
the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
50:18
Who's going to worship the Antichrist?
50:21
Those who are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
50:26
So if my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, guess what?
50:30
I'm going to be kept. I won't worship something apart
50:34
from God. Look at chapter 17, verse 8.
50:42
The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to rise
50:46
from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.
50:50
And the dwellers on earth, whose names have not been written in
50:54
the book of life, from the foundation of the world, will
50:57
marvel to see the beast because it was and is not and is to
51:03
come. Who's going to be captivated?
51:07
Who's going to be mesmerized? Who's going to marvel at the
51:10
beast? Those who are not found in the
51:14
Lamb's book of Life, those who are in the Lamb's book of life,
51:23
then will persevere. They will be faithful in the
51:32
sense that they are called to be faithful in the gospel.
51:36
So when we come back to Revelation 3, five, let me just
51:39
recap here. When he says the one who
51:40
conquers will be clothed us in white garments and I will never
51:42
blot out his name out of the book of life.
51:46
He's giving a promise to those who might feel the fear of not
51:52
living the way Christ called him to live.
51:54
Because if I really come alive in Christ, my reputation is at
51:59
stake. My name might be at stake.
52:02
I might cause problems in my family and problems in my local
52:06
synagogue, local workplace. There might be issues that flow
52:10
out of that. And Christ says, listen, listen,
52:12
listen. You were called to be an
52:14
overcomer, and I want to let you know that no matter what happens
52:18
to your reputation because of it, I will never blot your name
52:21
out of the Book of Life. Does it make sense?
52:23
Oh, I hope so. If not, it's going to be a long
52:26
line at that door today. It's a promise, not a warning.
52:30
There's no threat here. It's to reassure these believers
52:33
to go and live out their faith because they are preserved and
52:37
secure no matter what happens to you in this life with your name.
52:40
Your name is in the most important book of all, the Book
52:43
of Life. More than that, I will confess
52:47
His name before my Father and before his angels.
52:51
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
52:54
churches. Do you hear Christ today?
52:59
Are you sleeping? Look at all the heads that went
53:02
up. Good.
53:04
I'm not talking about physically sleeping.
53:06
Sometimes that happens in church.
53:10
I'm talking about your activity and your faith and your
53:14
sensitivity to your sanctification.
53:21
He has the seven spirits of God. The Holy Spirit can work in you
53:26
if you're willing to wake up and acknowledge.
53:29
I have no concern really about how my gifts work out in the
53:31
church. And really, I don't remember the
53:37
last time that I asked the Lord Jesus to make me more like Him.
53:42
I let my eyes look at whatever I let my ears hear, whatever I let
53:45
my mouth say, whatever my ambitions are.
53:49
Me, me, me more, this more, this more, this more.
53:53
That has nothing to do with the gospel, nothing to do with the
53:55
Kingdom. Is that you today?
53:58
Here's Jesus saying to you, I can help you.
54:03
Just get out of bed and let me empower you to walk now.
54:06
And no matter what may be the consequences of you living the
54:10
way you're called to live, no matter what happens to you in
54:13
this life, you will be clothed in white garments.
54:16
Your name will resound in the corridors of heaven, and Jesus
54:22
Christ himself will say, I know him and he belongs to me.
54:27
Come what may in this life, that's my future and yours.
54:30
Live it out for Jesus. Let's pray.
54:40
Father, we thank you that you have spoken to us so clearly,
54:46
and we do humbly ask that Maranatha Bible Church would be
54:49
a living church. Protect us from falling asleep.
54:57
Help us be alert. Help us have sensitive
55:00
consciences, not to the point of scrutinizing ourselves to death,
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but Lord, to just be in step with your will day in and day
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out. We ask so that you protect the
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leadership of this church to abide in the vine.
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We pray for every member of this church to do their part.
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We ask, Lord, that this would not be a place where there's a
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small few who live for you. By the Lord, we would all live
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for you and that we would be contributors to each other's
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passion for the things of God. Lord, we love you and we even
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now ask for the Holy Spirit to breathe fresh life into each of
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us. And we may walk out of here.
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Encourage knowing that there is no life like living for Christ
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wholeheartedly and no matter what kind of consequences in
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this world may come because of it.
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We have our names written in the Lamb's book of life.
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That is the greatest reward of all.
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So we thank you for it as we sing to you now for your help.
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In Jesus name we pray, Amen and Amen.
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Let's stand and let's pray what we're about to sing.
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The Lord will help us.