1 THE DEAD CHURCH (part 1) Revelation 3:1-6 June 8, 2014 Dr. Danny Forshee Today we come to the fifth of the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2-3. These seven churches in Asia Minor at the end of the first century AD were literal, historical churches, and the messages that Jesus gave to them in the first century have application for the church today in the 21 st century. Except for the churches at Smyrna and Philadelphia, there is a progressive worsening of the spiritual life of these churches. Jesus gave a very severe appraisal of the church at Sardis. His words surely cut to the heart of the members of that church even as His words pierce our hearts when we read them today. He told the church at Sardis that they were dead. Jesus has the right and the authority to make such pronouncements. He is the creator of the church. He died for all and those who believe on Him and follow Him congregate in their local communities to worship and serve Him. And when their worship and service are praiseworthy He commends and when it is sinful, He rebukes, as He did here in the church at Sardis. Only the church at Sardis and Laodecia did not receive strong words of commendation. Jesus does commend the faithful few at Sardis, but you have to look hard for good deeds in this dead church. Jesus began His messages to the four preceding churches by telling them that He knew their works and then He listed them. But to the church at Sardis He says I know your works and then He rebukes them. We are not saved because of our works but once we are truly saved we will work for the Lord. Ephesians 2:10 states, 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. What a painful and piercing word of diagnosis from the lips of our Lord to the church at Sardis in verse 1 but you are dead. The members were alive physically; they met as a church; they were known in the area as the church at Sardis; but all of this was an outward shell. What man saw was on the outside but God saw what was really important and that was the inside, the spiritual condition of the heart. Theirs was an outward shell of religiosity with no real spiritual life, zeal, and passion for God. John MacArthur (p. 111) says, The church at Sardis was like a museum in which stuffed animals are exhibited in their natural habitats. Everything appears to be normal, but nothing is alive. Sin killed the Sardis church. There are many ecclesiastical corpses dotting the landscape today. Through neglect, complacency, compromise, and a host of other reasons there once vibrant churches are only a shell of what they once were.
2 We will take two weeks to study the Sardis church, but please do not conclude that these sermons will only focus on the moribund, museum, or mausoleum. What is the opposite of death? Life. By studying the lessons of Scripture and the past mistakes of others we can avoid their ruin. We are blessed to be a part of a growing, healthy, though not perfect, New Testament church where we worship Jesus, believe and teach the Bible, reach out to those who do not know God, and enjoy fellowship with one another. I believe it was Mac Davis who sang that it was hard to be humble when you are perfect in every way. I do not have that problem and neither does our church. We are soldiers in training, pilgrims on the upward way. We have not arrived, but God has prospered our journey and with His blessings come responsibilities. Jesus said, For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. (Luke 12:48) Read text. And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. I. IDENTIFICATION (VS. 1-2, 4) Notice with me the identification of Jesus, the city of Sardis, and the problem in the church at Sardis. A. JESUS Jesus identifies Himself as He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. Seven in the Bible is the number of completion or perfection or fullness. We looked at the phrase seven Spirits of God in 1:4. This does not refer to seven Holy Spirits because the Bible makes most clear in other places that the Spirit is one not seven. This phrase refers to the completeness, fullness, and perfection of the Holy Spirit. It is very likely that this phrase refers to Zechariah 4:1-6 and the seven fold lampstand. Vs. 6 says, not by might nor by power, but by My Sprit, says the LORD of hosts. Another possible answer to the phrase seven Spirits of God is a reference to Isaiah 11:1-2 where Isaiah the prophet speaks of how the Holy Spirit will rest upon the coming Messiah Isaiah describes the Holy Spirit in this seven-fold manner the Spirit of the LORD, the Spirit
3 of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. In Revelation 1:20 we see where the seven stars are the seven messengers (and I interpret as pastors of the seven churches.) Here the Son of God in the fullness of the Spirit, holding all the pastors in His hand is confronting one of the seven churches of Asia Minor that is not complete or enjoying the fullness of the Spirit of God because of sin. Jesus identification is a rebuke to the church at Sardis. When is a person dead? When his spirit departs from him. All that is left is an empty corpse, and the same is true in the church. When is the church dead? It is dead when she grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit. B. CITY The city of Sardis had a most interesting history and by studying the historical background we can further appreciate our Lord s words to them. The city of Sardis was located 33 miles south of Thyatira 1500 feet above the valley below. The city was geographically positioned on a series of steep hills that were part of the transition from the Hermus plain to the top of Mount Tmolus. The hill, on which the city stood, was surrounded on 3 sides by steep, almost perpendicular rocks, and the fourth, the south side, was a neck of land that connected it to Mount Tmolus. And even this southern access to the city consisted of a steep, precipitous climb. The city provided an almost perfect defense against invasion. Sardis was the capital of the Lydian kingdom. In the 6 th century BC the king of Lydia, Croesus, initiated a war against Cyrus, king of Persia. He was defeated and fled to the safe haven of Sardis where Cyrus pursued him. Dr. Robert Thomas (p. 241) gives and excellent description of what happened. Croesus felt utterly secure in his impregnable situation atop the acropolis and foresaw an easy victory over the Persians who were cornered among the perpendicular rocks in the lower city, an easy prey for the assembling Lydian army to crush. After retiring one evening while the drama was unfolding, he awakened to discover that the Persians had gained control of the acropolis by scaling one-by-one the steep walls (549 BC). So secure did the Sardians feel that they left this means of access completely unguarded, permitting the climbers to ascend unobserved. It is said that even a child could have defended the city from this kind of attack, but not so much as one observer had been appointed to watch the side that was believed to be inaccessible. Also, in 195 BC, Antiochus the Great conquered Sardis by climbing up the unguarded sides of the hill. The Sardis army only guarded the southern portion of the city that was connected to the piece of land leading to Mount Tmolus (Ibid.). We will look more at this next week but there seems to be a connection with the city s surprising defeats in the past and Jesus words to them that He would come to them in vs. 3 like a thief.
4 C. PROBLEM The church at Sardis was dead, complacent, and corrupt. Let us look at each of these problems. 1. Dead They had an appearance that they were alive, but Jesus said they were dead. Singing, preaching, people gathered does not a vibrant church make. I imagine there were some in the church who thought they were just fine; they were walking around dead and did not even know it. Perhaps they rationalized their comatose religion by comparing themselves to others who were worse off than they. Whether it is a church or another living organism like a marriage or a business or a relationship, things can appear normal on the outside for a while, but when matters of the heart are not right it is simply a matter of time until the end the relationship is terminated or the doors of the church or business are closed. The church at Sardis practiced a superficial Christianity. Thomas (p. 247-48) states: Like the city, the church was existing in the past so to speak. Its fame and the ministry of its members for Christ in the past were the basis for its present reputation. They had made peace with the surrounding society and fit in comfortably with their culture. The offense of the cross in that community had ceased to exist. 2. Complacent In vs. 2 Jesus tells them that He has not found their works perfect or complete before God. They went through the motions but greatly failed in fulfilling their divine role as an active, alive church. Lack of vigilance had led to the city s destruction in 549 BC and 195 BC, (Thomas, p. 249) and the church in AD 95 was blindly following the same path of least resistance that leads to death. Passivity and complacency lead to premature deaths while vigilance and proactive behavior lead to blessing, security, and life. 3. Corrupt There were only a few in the church who had not defiled, or spoiled, or stained their garments. This was a general way of stating their sinfulness. Their love for the world had surpassed their love for Christ, and I believe their behavior reflected the object of their devotion. I have a probing, thought-provoking question for you. If someone were observing your behavior outside of the church on Sunday, would they conclude that you were a follower of Jesus Christ? We must be careful in the way that we live because the truth is people do watch us. SEE STORY ATTACHED. II. COMMENDATION (VS. 2, 4)
5 There is not a whole lot to commend in the church at Sardis, but there is some. Jesus mentions, the things which remain, that are ready to die (vs. 2). He did not say the things that abound or overflow but simply remain. In vs. 4 Jesus mentions the few who had not defiled their garments, not the many, but the few. Jesus did not give a stellar commendation to the church. I wonder what their reputation was like in the city. Perhaps they were friends with the world yet at enmity with God, as James 4:4 says. I can imagine one of the church members at Sardis telling his friends at the church the following story While I was on business in Ephesus I attended the local church and they were so intolerant. They actually kicked people out of the church! They are so mean and judgmental and I am so glad that we are not like that here in Sardis. The Christian church that does not rub salt into the decay of society or shine the light of the gospel in a sinful world will not receive the ire and criticism from those in the world and neither will they receive praise and commendation from Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the many of you here at our church that remain committed in your zeal and devotion to Jesus Christ. You are not perfect but your garments are not tainted and spotted by the sins of this world. Many of you choose to influence others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ instead of being adversely influenced by others. I applaud you and your witness and devotion to the Lord, but moreover the Lord Himself applauds you! In a former church where I served as pastor, there was a local physician, Dr. Matt Halverson, and his family that were visiting our church. One day I went home and Matt had dropped by my house and placed a note in my mailbox. And it said you are getting to me, basically God was working in his life. Matt and Cindy joined our church and God took away his desire for alcohol and gave him a renewed passion for Christ and the church. I spent four years in an accountability group with Matt and to this day he still loves the Lord and walks with Him. Matt played in an annual golf tournament at the James River Country Club, and he told me how he met a man who was very instrumental in the building of our facilities at Liberty. The man was talking to another group of men about the various buildings the company had constructed when Dr. Halverson asked him did his company not build LBC and the man said we did and made a statement about the next building phase. Then Dr. Halverson told him that all of the buildings his company will ever build LBC would be the most important and influence more people than all the others. The man looked at him sort of inquisitively and then Dr. Halverson told him, I joined that church 3-4 years ago and it has changed my life. Most churches today are not growing or making much of an impact in their communities. But those that are growing are doing so for a reason. They have the joy of Jesus and they impart that joy to all they meet. I recently spoke with a former student of mine who had gone through a horrific experience in his church he pastored. Michael and Julie have three kids
6 and one on the way and their church made it so miserable for them they had to leave. They moved to Memphis, TN, and both Michael and Julie are working as waiters to make a living. Michael told me about his experience of visiting Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, one of our largest churches in the SBC. He said it was amazing how they were treated. When they arrived on campus people greeted them and loved on them and when one of the greeters found out they were new to the area he actually gave Michael his cell phone number and said call me if I can do anything for you. Recently Pastor Steve took Michael to dinner and just loved on him and ministered to him. Large, growing churches are large and growing for a reason. I hear of stories and experiences like this in our church and as a pastor it gives me great joy to hear how so many of you brag on Jesus, witness to those in your community, and go out of your way to bless and minister to others, and I am so grateful to God for how He is building and growing our church. CONCLUSION AND INVITATION Next week we will conclude our study of the church at Sardis by examining the Lord s exhortation and words of promise to the believers. Do you have a relationship with the Lord? Has there ever been a time when you turned your life over to God and gave Him control of your life? If you have not I invite you to pray and ask Jesus to save you from your sins. Repent of your sins and believe in the Lord for salvation. Let me encourage those of you who know the Lord to be faithful. Do not compromise with this world. Be separate and different, and make a difference for the Lord. Many of you are new to our city and looking for a church home. And there are some great churches in Austin and I encourage you to visit them and pray and ask the lord to lead you to where you need to be. I am very blessed to serve as the pastor of a healthy and growing church. We are not a dead church as there are vital signs of life pulsating throughout our church family. If God is leading you and your family to come and be a part, then you come.