Study 13. Church of Sardis.

Revelation  3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.  3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.  3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.  3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.  3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.  3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

THEIR PRESENT REGRETABLE 

SITUATION.

Revelation  3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead

1. THIS LETTER SENT BY CHRIST, WAS SENT TO THE PASTOR, THE LEADERS AND MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH, OCCUPYING FOR CHRIST IN BRINGING OTHERS TO THE KINGDOM.

Luke  19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

THEY MUST BE HOLY AND OBEDIENT LIKE ANGELS.

Matthew 25:31

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Psalms  103:20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

2.  THESE SEVEN SPIRITS WERE THE SPIRIT OF GOD

Revelation  1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

Revelation  4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD HAD THE SEVEN SPIRITS.  HE HAD THE SPIRIT OF GOD WITHOUT MEASURE.

Revelation  5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

John  3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

Isaiah  11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:  11:2 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 of the fear of the LORD;

3. HE ALSO HAD THE SEVEN STARS.

HE HAS THE MINISTERS OF THE CHURCHES IN HIS HANDS.

Revelation  1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 

Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Revelation  2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

Revelation  3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.  3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God

Thou hast a name that thou livest – Ye have the reputation of Christians, and consequently of being alive to God, through the quickening influence of the Divine Spirit; but ye are dead – ye have not the life of God in your souls, ye have not walked consistently and steadily before God, and his Spirit has been grieved with you, and he has withdrawn much of his light and power.

This church in the time past had gained a great reputation it had a name, and a very honourable one, for a flourishing church, a name for vital lively religion, for purity of doctrine, unity among themselves, uniformity in worship, decency, and order. 

YE ARE NOW DEAD.

YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD TO SIN, UNFORTUNATELY, YOU ARE NOW DEAD IN SI..

Romans  6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

DEAD IN SIN

Jeremiah  2:3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.

Ephesians  2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins

Colossians  2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

1 Timothy  5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

Luke  15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.  15:32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

REMEDY FROM THE PRESENT SITUATION.

Revelation  3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.  3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God.

Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.

Be watchful – Ye have lost ground by carelessness and inattention. Awake, and keep awake!

Strengthen the things which remain – The convictions and good desires, with any measure of the fear of God and of a tender conscience, which, although still subsisting, are about to perish, because the Holy Spirit, who is the author of them, being repeatedly grieved, is about finally to depart.

This church was not really what it was reputed to be. They had a name to live, but they were dead there was a form of godliness, but not the power, a name to live, but not a principle of life. 

2 Timothy  3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Remember – Enter into a serious consideration of your state.

Titus  1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

They maintained their reputation before men, but their works were not perfect before God.

How thou hast received – With what joy, zeal, and gladness ye heard the Gospel of Christ when first preached to you.

1Ti 5:12

Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.

Rev 2:4

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Hold fast – Those good desires and heavenly influences which still remain.

And repent – Be humbled before God, because ye have not been workers together with him, but have received much of his grace in vain.

If therefore thou shalt not watch – If you do not consider your ways, watching against sin, and for opportunities to receive and do good.

Whenever we are off our watch, we lose ground, and therefore must return to our watchfulness against sin, and Satan, and whatever is destructive to the life and power of godliness

I will come on thee as a thief – As the thief comes when he is not expected, so will I come upon you if ye be not watchful, and cut you off from life and hope.

ENCOURAGEMENT.

Revelation  3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

There were some few members of this church still standing firm.  Our Lord encouraged them to continue to the end.

They still  retained their integrity, but they were in danger of declining with the rest. It is a difficult thing to keep up to the life and power of godliness ourselves, when we see a universal deadness and declension prevailing round about us.

They  have not defiled their garments – Their souls. The Hebrews considered holiness as the garb of the soul, and evil actions as stains or spots on this garb.

They shall walk with me in white – They shall be raised to a state of eternal glory, and shall be for ever with their Lord.

Luke  21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

2 Thessalonians  1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.  

These saints shall live eternally with Christ.

Revelation  4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

Revelation  7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?  7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.  7:16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.  7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Revelation  19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.  19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.  19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.  19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

To be among the saints that shall live with Christ, listen to the voice of the blessed Holy Spirit, now.

Revelation 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches

Let us pray.