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Revelation 3:1-6 Sardis the dead church · The TakeAway

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, and welcome to the Takeaway, where we teach through the Bible, chapter by chapter and verse by verse, to help you understand God's Word so that you can have a more intimate relationship with Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome again to the takeaway.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Pastor Harry Barrens, and on today's episode, we'll be looking at Revelation chapter 3, verses 1 through 6, the Church of Sardis, the cold or dead church.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before we get started, I want to remind you again that there is a pattern that repeats in the letters to the seven churches that we need to see and to understand.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: To each church, Jesus identifies himself with the characteristic of himself that best fits their current situation.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is a reminder to us that he meets us where we are.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Second, he encourages them in their good works.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Third, he points out their bad works and calls them to turn back or repent of them.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, he tells them what their judgment will be if they don't repent.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: And fifth, he tells them what their reward will be if they do endure till the end.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is God's promise to us also.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: To every single church and believer, Jesus meets us where we are and offers promise to us if we endure.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: However, as we will see, not every church is doing something bad, not every church is doing something good, and some are doing both good and bad.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Our goal is to learn from these churches so that we can stay on the straight and narrow path, so that we can enter into God's promises and receive the reward He has for us.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: As we look at Sardis, there's a question we need to ask ourselves.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Are we a part of a cold or sleeping church?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Even better, are you cold or sleeping when it comes to your relationship with Jesus?
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: As we get started in today's lesson, let's see what Jesus has to say about believers who are cold in their faith or sleeping.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in verse one, we read, And to the angel of the church of Sardis write, the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, again, here's the seven.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we've talked about this in the previous episodes that throughout Revelation, the number seven comes up a lot and is a number for perfection or completion.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now the seven spirits uh are referred to in Isaiah chapter eleven, verse two.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: You can read this for yourself, and it says, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Again, the number seven here indicates completeness, and the seven spirits would indicate that Jesus has the full spirit of God and is not lacking in the Godhead.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: He is God, and all authority has been given to him, and he is able to deal with all circumstances in a just and righteous manner.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I know your works, you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Whew, what does a dead church look like that has a reputation of being alive?
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: How do we avoid becoming like this?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you have driven by many, a many number of churches, all with different names.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever noticed that many of them have names that proclaim life?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: On the surface, they want the world to see them as having a spirit-filled life.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: More than that, they tend to give themselves these names as a way to remind themselves this is what they desire to be.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: I've personally visited a lot of churches with names that speak life and have quickly found that they were dead on the inside or sleeping.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: When Jesus says dead, he is indicating something like a corpse that is cold to the touch, has no life in it at all.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Sleeping, on the other hand, is indicating that you could still be woken up.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: As we will see in the next verse, Jesus says wake up after calling them dead.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is because only Jesus can bring the dead back to life.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Even in a dead church, there is still hope.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: So how do we evaluate ourselves to determine if we are dead or sleeping?
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: I would say, first of all, if you are uh if you are evaluating yourself, you probably aren't dead.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Second, be aware that you aren't a part of a dead congregation.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can tell just by looking and listening.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Is the teaching all fluff?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Is the pastor constantly preaching that you need to do something or focus on constantly motivating people or encouraging them to take part in ministry?
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Are the people just there to check church off the religious list of things to do?
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Or are they there to become spirit-filled and to serve joyfully without compulsion?
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And in 1 Peter 5, Peter is talking to the leaders of the church, and he says, So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good example of what a living church should look like, and what the leaders of those churches should look like.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a great way for you to evaluate the situation that you're in.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now in verse two, it says, Wake up and strengthen what remains, and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Remember then what you received and heard.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Keep it and repent.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: He is speaking of believers who are awake amongst the sleeping church.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Again, maybe that's you.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: We have a responsibility to try and wake our brothers and sisters up.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: When we notice they have fallen asleep.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: However, with that said, at some point you have to separate yourself from this church if they are not responding to God's word to wake up.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Always do this in love and never from a place of arrogance or pride.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: In verse five, the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: I will confess his name before my father and before his angels.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to this to the churches.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, verses three and five, the judgment is if you don't watch, I will come as a thief.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: And the promise, he who overcomes will be given white garments, and a name and a name won't be blotted out of the book of life.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in Matthew twenty-five, Jesus gives a parable of ten virgins, five who were wise and five who were foolish, with their lamps while waiting for the bridegroom.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says to them in these verses, Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: But at midnight there was a cry, Here is the bridegroom, come out to meet him.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: But the wise answered, saying, Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: But he answered, Truly I say to you, I do not know you.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: And just like the parable of the virgins, there were some who lived godly lives in the midst of this sleeping church.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: How have we experienced this?
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Are we guilty of sleeping, or do we feel like we are trying to wake up and they just aren't waking?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: I hope today's episode really spoke to you and that you will evaluate your life and the church you are a part of if you are a part of one.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you aren't, I would encourage you to find a church that is alive and teaching God's word.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you are a part of a church full of life, evaluate yourself.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you are not the one that is sleeping.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Wake up and repent.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Rededicate your life to Jesus starting today.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Fall in love with him all over again and follow him wherever he desires to lead you.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: He is the good shepherd and wants nothing but the best for you.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me today in today's episode.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: I hope it really spoke to you.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'd like to close us out in prayer and pray for you today.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Father, thank you so much for your word and the revelation that you have given us.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: I pray for the listeners today, God, that you will wake them up, that you will knock on the door of their heart and that they would respond to that.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: I pray that they will just rededicate their lives to following after you.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if they've never followed after you, that they would, for the first time in their lives, accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and dedicate their lives to following after Him the rest of their days, that they would be full of life and receive the promises that you are offering to give to us, so that we can overflow into this world and lead many other people to the bread of life, which is Jesus, so that they too may be saved.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Father, thank you for your word and the truth that you give us and the revelation that you reveal to us.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: We praise you, we love you, and we thank you in Jesus' name.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you again for joining me today.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: I again I hope you really enjoyed today's episode.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: And in our next episode, we'll be looking at the Church of Philadelphia, the patiently enduring church.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: This is a beautiful church and probably one that we should strive to be.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you again and God bless.