Revelation tonight to read of the church in Sardis, which is chapter three, verse one. And I'm jumping ahead a little bit. This is now church number five, because on the Sunday mornings, you're listening to these messages week by week. So I'm trying to not duplicate but to give you tonight and Lord willing next week, uh, the, the closing churches so that you'll cover the most of them. I think we'll be missing one, but, uh, you'll be covering the most of them. Uh, if I do it this way. So tonight we're looking at Sardis chapter three, verse one and onto the angel of the church in Sardis, right? These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars, and I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and are dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 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. 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. 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. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Now, I am reminded of the communion service coming up on Sunday, and it's always good to prepare the way for that. It is a very special occasion in the Lord's Church when we remember the two symbols which the Lord has given us to remember him, his death, his sacrifice on Calvary. And the Lord knows how prone we are to get away from the very basics of redemption and the cross work and to move to other things. And the Lord keeps bringing us back every time at a communion service to the essential work of redemption at the cross. And of course, that's the bread and butter of the Christian life. It's not only the way people get saved, but it's the way we feed. It's the way we get nourished. And the communion table is described as the Lord's Supper because it does nourish us spiritually. Now, that tiny little bread wouldn't nourish our body very much, and that little tiny drink of juice wouldn't do much for our thirst, but it is a way by which the Lord brings us back to focus and to meditate upon his sacrifice at Calvary. And I'm a great believer in Christians preaching the cross to themselves. It's the remedy. And we're going to learn that tonight as we get into this church at Sardis that was a bit sickly and in need of great care. So shall we pray it in the opening that the Lord will prepare our hearts and help us to Just come, especially on Sunday, with prepared hearts to receive that spiritual nourishment. Oh God, our Father, we thank Thee tonight for the Lord Jesus, our crucified Savior. We thank Thee that He is our everything and all-sufficient Savior, that in Him is every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. And we need no other. We need no other sacrifice. We need no other Redeemer. And we are thinking tonight, as we read your word and as we pray, we are thinking of the table you've ordained. And we thank thee that your people here, month by month, come back to that, and that they are reminded and that they do feed upon the death, the crosswork, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. We're thankful that we don't do what Roman Catholics think they do, to drink actual blood or to eat the actual bread of Jesus. We know that cannot be. But Lord, you've ordained this, that we remember Thee in a spiritual manner, and that we have right thoughts and right understanding, and that we discern the body of Christ, even in the very act of receiving the bread and cup. And I pray that you will bless your people here and all who join in that service Sunday afternoon and teach us, Lord, teach us what it means to not only be a Christian, what it means to be under the blood and under the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, but what it means to feed on thee and to meditate constantly upon the death, the suffering, and the victory of the Lord Jesus. We do rejoice tonight that at the cross, dear Lord, you got the victory, that you overcame the devil, that you overcame every opposition, And in truth, you offered up yourself and gave up your life on that cross. And you had power to lay it down and power to take it up again. And you did so in power. And you were a priest upon that cross, offering up yourself as an all-sufficient sacrifice. And so we are thankful and we are resting and rejoicing in the finished work of the Lord Jesus. Now, I pray that you will strengthen your people here. Thank you for each believer. Thank you for each brother, each sister, each one who fellowships in this church and beyond in family circles. And we're praying, O Lord, that you will minister to your people in a very personal way. We pray for each one that is pressing on, striving against sin, struggling, going upstream against every temptation, and seeking grace to go on with God in the face of every difficulty. Thank you for answering so many prayers for your people. What victories you've given, what blessings you've bestowed upon your people, because they have asked in faith, and Lord, you've been gracious to give them the answers. And we continue to pray and continue to ask. And we pray for any with health needs that you will minister mightily and wonderfully. Thou art Jehovah Rophi. And we pray that thou will prove to be the healer of thy people, to be the sustainer of thy people. and that you will carry them along in every time of need. We give praise for the birth of the little baby to Aaron and his wife, and we thank thee for this little child. We also pray for Fletcher. We pray for this little boy and the procedure that he has gone through. We ask, O Lord, that it will be a good success that he will heal and that he will be in renewed health almost instantly after this surgery. and that you would recover his strength and bless his family and be with them in all their needs. We pray for your blessing upon your people. We ask for those that need your touch. Think of the elderly, that you will be gracious unto them. and minister to them wonderfully. Now bless us tonight. Help us to search your word with delight. Help us to take in that you are such a compassionate, caring shepherd over your church. And give us hearts like thine to care and to love your people all the way. Oh, hear us and help us now. in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. Amen. Revelation chapter three, verse one, we're coming to the sickly church tonight, Sardis. And it's A sad church in reality, because we're told in verse 2 that it's about to die, and it would be a dismal thing to be a part of this congregation. There wouldn't be a lot of joy. There wouldn't be a lot of praise and triumphant singing. There would have been a downcast spirit. And you would have to treat this congregation as very low spiritually. It's almost like you need to put up a hospital sign and say that this church is under last day's care because it's about to die. And you'll see the call in the opening verse here, unto the angel of the church and start us right. These things saith he that of the seven spirits of God, In the seven stars, I know thy works, and thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead. Be watchful. Now let's take that as the great message for such a church that is in a low spiritual condition and needs to be revived to new health and to new strength. And you can see that every church needs tremendous care. And that never ceases to amuse me. I have been in church work since I was, well, the first congregation I was in charge of, I was 22 years old. That's 46 years ago. And I was placed in charge of a little congregation, a bit like this, while I was a student. And I was studying through the week, caring for the church, on Sundays, midweek meeting, just like this. And all of these years that I've been involved in churches, whether they be in Northern Ireland, Canada, or visiting churches like I'm doing now, you learn the many faceted needs of God's people. And some are almost jumping over the top, and others are really lying down sickly and need reviving. And here's a picture of a church that really needs a lot of care. Now I noticed there are three remedies that are mentioned, three things that need to happen to see this church revived. And it says here in verse three, remember therefore how thou hast received and heard. We'll put that as one, put those two together. Receiving and hearing, we'll put those as number one. And then the second thing, and hold fast. Then the third one, and repent. And then it goes on to develop that right through the message to this church. So to see a church renewed and revived and strengthened, there has to be, we need to pray for a good receiving of the word. and a feeding upon the Lord. Receiving and feeding. Now, some congregations get to the point where they really can't receive spiritual food. because they've become so unbelieving, so liberal, so modern-minded, and they don't take the Bible just as God's book speaking straight to their own hearts, and they don't treat the Bible as God's direct message to their own souls. They've got so many question marks, so many other notions that it really blocks the word coming and doing them any good. And so we need to pray that God will keep his people receiving the word simply, directly, and with faith, believing the word. Now, sometimes people have difficulty with preachers and with ministers, but way above that, they have to listen to God speaking to their own hearts. Now, in feeding such needy souls, there needs to be a constant diet, a little at a time. Not everybody can receive the same amount of food at one time. Not everybody has the capacity for a loaded plate of food. Some just have to nibble. And when people are ill, when people are low physically, you give them a little bit at a time. It'll be like bringing a prisoner of war out of a starvation diet and expecting them to feed. You'd probably do more harm feeding too much. And so pastors, preachers, and Sunday school teachers need to learn, just feed constantly. a little bit here, a little bit at a time, get that home, get that into their system, and let it do its works. You remember how the Lord fed Israel six days a week with the manna? Every morning it came fresh, and Israel ate their daily portion, and then it stank. They couldn't take too much. If they doubled up through the week, it stank, couldn't eat it. However, on the sixth day, they doubled up and that fed them right through until the beginning of the next week. That was God's way of feeding his people a little at a time. And that's why you need to come to church to every meeting. That's why it's good for God's people to be at every meeting where the word is read and expounded, because you get a constant diet. It needs also to be a gospel diet. And that is, it should be focusing on Christ's cross work. I like this text you have on your pulpit here. Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. I like that. It's a good reminder. And God's people need the gospel over and over. And the communion table reminds us of that. It is God's will that we continually get back to Calvary. And as I mentioned, it is a good thing for a Christian to preach the cross to yourself. What do I mean by that? Well, I'm a preacher, so I spend a lot of my time studying, preparing messages and sermons, and I'm focusing a lot on trying to grasp what Christ accomplished on the cross. All the terms, redemption, satisfaction, propitiation, and reconciliation, atonement, those are great big statements. But you have to go back to what is God's planning? What was God's intent? What did God wish for his people when he sent his son to die on the cross? And so you have to try and digest all of that and then give it out again to the people. And again, some can receive strong doctrine, some cannot. And you have to be willing to preach it in its definitions and statements and in its simplicity. and just lay it out, but it's still a diet of the cross. And I've always noticed a people who are strong on the cross will be strong in everything else. Their faith will be strong. Their determination to live for God will be strong because they have had the cross work of the Lord Jesus propounded and preached onto them week by week. Now, another little thing about the diet, and that is it should be applicatory. It should be devotional. It shouldn't be so academic that it misses the heart. And on a Tuesday night, my method would simply be to just talk. Just talk my heart out. and to lay before you the diet of the gospel, little by little. Now if you go down to verse six in chapter three, you will see how the emphasis is on hearing. Let him, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Now to speak devotionally, means you take the doctrine and you say, this is where it applies to you. This is what this means in your life, in your heart, and in your home. And it is, therefore, a personal word. And just like the person on a hospital bed, ill, you give personal care. And you would encourage them to eat, encourage them to rest and to sleep, encourage them to take the medication personally and the remedies personally. And likewise, we should do that in the Lord's church, because so often we have the attitude, that's for somebody else, that's for another person. But when you come to church, whether it's Sunday or Tuesday, you want to say, Lord, you have a word for me today, and it should be a devotional word that will apply to my heart. And to do that, preachers need to speak very plainly and very clearly. And that's where the work lies, by the way. That's where you can't just come saying the same thing every week. You have to have a word in season. So would you pray for that? This is another pointer for prayer, that this will be a church that will care even for the weakest Christian, for the most troubled Christian, or even the most tempted Christian. And let's face it, all of God's people are tempted and all face horrific opposition to walk the other direction or turn away from God. And we need to pray, Lord, let this be a place of feeding where the word is received. And you know that the parable where the word was sown on the different types of ground and only on the good ground was the word sufficiently in the soil that it brought forth a harvest. And that's what we need to pray. Lord, to strengthen the church, make us strong feeders to feed and receive the word by faith and by grace. Now let's move to the second remedy. We're looking at verse three and there's has received and heard and hold fast And so here is an attitude of holding fast. And again, this is something that you would say to someone in a very weak medical condition. You would say to them, I know you're in pain and I know you're suffering, but hold on, hold fast. Don't surrender. You hang in there and we'll get this turned around. And well, we are to, as Christians, Likewise, encourage one another to hold fast. Don't give up. Don't go back. And to hold fast, of course, it means we have no interest in worldly things, no interest in modern ways, and we do take interest in the strong things that make us strong. Now, what are those strong things that make a Christian strong? They are, of course, doctrine. Doctrine. And as Christians, we all need doctrine. Doctrine are like anchors that fix us in the midst of the storms of life. And the doctrine that we hope to, of course, is the Westminster Confession of Faith. I hope you have a copy of that. I hope you read it. The lighter version is the Shorter Catechism, which is intended to teach boys and girls. And what a wonderful thing to memorize that in our presbytery in Northern Ireland. They have certificates for children who learn all 107 questions and answers in one sitting. They have to do it all in one go. And it takes them probably a couple of years to learn it, learn it well enough that they can not only know the last one, but go back to one and all the way through. And it's like a library of doctrine. And it is a tremendous strength. And these are the things that enable us to hold fast. I like John's definition of love. Let's go back to 1 John 5 and verse 3. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. And in the Lord's church, we need the commandments, the Lord's commandments. And of course, the summary of them is in the Ten Commandments that were given to Moses in Mount Sinai. And they are the very foundation of our Christian living. And if we care for one another, we will memorize the Ten Commandments, we will live by them, be an example of living out God's commandments in our hearts, and say, by our lives, they're not a grief to me. They're my delight. I delight in the law of the Lord, and in his law do I meditate day and night. And so by these means, Christians can hold fast. And so we need to pray about that tonight, that Christians will be taught, grounded, and that they will hold fast in the midst of the troubles of life. The third remedy that's given here in verse three is repentance. And we need to pray for a deepening repentance. With God, the way up is down. That's the great chief lesson in the Christian life. And when we humble ourselves, he gives us more grace. And when we come and sit at Jesus' feet in all our need, the Lord ministers to us, comforts us, and strengthens us. And in the souls of believers, this repentant attitude must deepen. And that's the purpose. of ministry in the church. Now, what do we mean by deepening a person's repentance? When we become a Christian, we have repented, of course, of our sins. You can't become a Christian without repenting of sin, past sins, and all the worldly ways that you lived. You repent of all ungodliness. But what about the next day and the day after and the year after? Well, we should be learning to hate sin all the more. And if you're a growing Christian, you will say, I hate sin tonight more than I did a year ago, or five years ago, or when I was just newly converted. I hate sin, and I hate worldliness, and I am repentant. I have a repentant attitude toward all of those things. And that's the ministry of the Holy Spirit in your heart. The more of the Holy Spirit in your life and heart, the more repentant you will be of evil. One of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is the dove. And the dove is a small bird, probably smaller than a pigeon, and its hallmark is its mourning. Its call is very mournful. And that's a picture of a Christian. We mourn over sin. The Lord Jesus says, blessed are they that mourn. And that's a mourning over ungodliness and uncleanness. So that when we see sin around us in the world, we lament that. That's not something we get fun out of. It's not something that switches us on. It's something that grieves our heart. We lament over sin in the world around us. Sin in the home, when children do the wrong things, say the wrong things, become rebellious. All of that is grievous to godly parents. And then, of course, when there's sin in the church, it is a great grief to the whole congregation. And we pray Lord, give our brother or our sister a spirit of repentance that they will confess, return, and call again upon the Lord. And that brings us to the confession of sin. Now, I want to come back to this matter of preaching the cross to ourselves. When I talk here about having a repentant attitude, Doesn't mean you become so despondent and downcast. No, there ought to be in your heart a note of victory. Because every time you confess sin, you go to the cross, and we know that at the cross, the Lord Jesus got the victory. He put to flight the powers of darkness. Would you read with me Colossians chapter two and verse 13. The book of Colossians chapter two and verse 13. Here's what our Lord did at the cross. Fearing one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ also forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Sorry, I'm at chapter three. Chapter two, verse 15. Verse 13 is where I want to start. Colossians 2.13, and you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, have he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross, and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." Now, to preach the cross to yourself is to preach the accomplishment of our Lord Jesus and how he, like a great conquering, mighty victor, overcame his enemy and our enemy and have brought us blessing upon blessing. And when we repent of the world, we preach the cross to ourselves and we seek, pray, Lord, give me the victory that you purchased for me at the cross. That's a great prayer to pray. Lord, give me the victory that you received at the cross. And that brings tremendous blessing and tremendous power into your own soul. And so the cross lifts our burdens, leads us into liberty, and it kills our sin nature. It puts down temptation, and it makes us to triumph. and to get stronger and stronger. Now again, we think of the communion on Sunday afternoon, and let's pray tonight that the Lord will work this in everyone and in each one of us. Lord, do a work in my heart this coming Sunday at the communion table. Make it a time when I really revisit Calvary. when I see what my Lord Jesus accomplished in his death and rejoice in it and rest in it and come to live my life in the power of it, not in my own strength or attempting to do better by myself. Now, what we've had here tonight are remedies for a sickly church, Sardis, and they apply to us. because there's none of us strong enough. There's none of us spiritually healthy enough. We all have weak spots and we need to be strengthened. And so let's take these to heart. Let's pray for one another. And let's pray for all who attend that they will be brought into this care. And we're all to be watchful. And I think there's no better place to be watchful over the church than in prayer, in the prayer meeting. And we pray, Lord, keep this church from temptation. Keep it from error. Keep it in the Bible. Keep Christians full of faith and make us prayerful and make us repentant of the world. These are all prayers that God will bless and God will answer as he ministers to us tonight. And I trust on the Lord's day as well.