In examining our text today, one is forced to consider what it means and what it looks like to have a form of godliness or a reputation for being alive, but not actually being alive. What does it mean for a church? What does that mean for a city? What would it mean for a town, for a country? To have a reputation for a spiritual life, but not actually possessing that spiritual life. Michael Horton, in an article that he wrote in Modern Reformation, which he also later wrote in his book, Christless Christianity, offers a very thought-provoking vignette for us to consider. He writes, what would things look like if Satan actually took over a city? The first frames in your imaginative slide show, probably depict mayhem on a massive scale, widespread violence, deviant sexual behavior, pornography in every vending machine, churches closed down, Worshippers dragged off to City Hall. Over a half century ago, Donald Gray Barnhouse, pastor of Philadelphia's 10th Presbyterian Church, gave his CBS radio audience a different picture of what it would look like if Satan took control of a town in America. He said that all of the bars and pool halls would be closed, pornography banished, pristine streets and sidewalks would be occupied by tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The kids would answer, yes sir, no ma'am. And the churches would be full on Sunday, where Christ is not preached. It would be sardis. It would be a reputation for being alive, but actually being dead. It would be washing the outside of the cup so that it looks good while there is absolutely nothing on the inside. That's what it would look like. And here's the unfortunate part of all of this. Most of us, if we're honest, what we long for is that city that was described. What we long for is the clean streets, and the absence of pornography, and people who have manners, and are kind to each other, and speak, and children who say, yes sir, and no ma'am, and all of these things. This is what we desire, this is what we want. And if we're really honest, there's a lot of us who heard about that and heard about churches filled in a community like that where Christ is not preached. And the fact of the matter is, that was only a slight tinge of discomfort over that. Because truth be told, there are many of us who would reason like this. Well, I mean, as long as the churches are full, as long as the people are decent, Because after all, that is the goal, isn't it? For churches to be full and for people to be decent, for people to behave themselves. That's what we're all about, is it not? The answer is a resounding no. Absolutely not. That is not what we are all about. We are about something more significant than that. We are not about washing the outside of the cup. Closely related to that is this idea that many of us have that ultimately what we need to is to get back to a more wholesome time. And it's ironic that the more wholesome time that we want to get back to is a time that looks like what Donald Gray Barnhouse referred to when Satan is in charge of a town. You see, we want to get back to a time with white picket fences. with mothers who stayed home and cooked and cleaned, wearing beautiful long dresses and aprons, and smiled for their husbands when they came home and had dinner ready on the table. A time where everyone walked around with a shirt and tie. A time where people were clean cut and well behaved. In other words, what we want to do is get back to that time before this nasty culture war exploded in the 1960s and everything went to hell in a handbasket. We want to get back to the glory days of the 1950s because we actually believe that that was a good time before everything went bad. Let me give you a rundown of that decade of the 1950s, if you don't mind. 1950, the Korean War begins. An undeclared war that sent our young men thousands of miles away to die on other shores. Sound familiar? 1951, South Africans were forced to carry identity cards to identify their race as apartheid got started. in this wonderful, pristine, white picket fence decade of the 50s. 1952, 3,300 children died and 57,000 more were paralyzed by polio in that wonderful decade we want to get back to. 1953, Playboy magazine was first published in that wonderful decade that we all want to get back to. 1954, Brown versus Board of Education. That case that set the nation on fire by outlawing discrimination in our schools. But that's a good thing, right? Yeah, it's a good thing. So good that three years later, nine little black kids were stopped by the Arkansas National Guard at Central High School that said, they're not coming in here. in that wonderful decade that we all want to get back to. 1955, Emmett Till was murdered. And Allen Ginsberg's poem, Howl, was published. By the way, homosexual lewdness throughout that poem. 1956, Elvis Presley scandalized America on the Ed Sullivan Show, ushering in an era that we are now reaping the whirlwind of. 1957, Gypsy, the biography of a stripper, was turned into a film. 1958, Lolita celebrated pedophilia. And in 1959, the dictator Fidel Castro took over in Cuba. There are your 1950s. You still want them? Still think they were the glory days? I'll tell you what they were. They have a reputation for having been alive, but they were dead. They have a reputation for being a time when we were actually better spiritually, but we were not. the 1950s, Sardis. It's Sardis. That's what we read about in Revelation chapter three, verses one through seven. Join me there and we'll see what it is that the Spirit says to the churches through the message to the church in Sardis. Beginning in verse one. And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. By the way, up to this point, we've heard, I know your works. And then there was some good stuff, and maybe, but this I have against you. Notice that in Sardis, you don't get the good stuff. I know your works. You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up. Strengthen what remains and is about to die. For I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard. Keep it and repent. 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. 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. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to Sardis. The pattern, though broken slightly, is still the normal pattern. We have the location identified. We have the Lord identified with characteristics borrowed from chapter 1 and the characteristics that relate directly to the correction being brought in the church. We have the statement of His sovereignty and omnipotence when He says, I know your deeds. We have the statement of the fact that this is the Word of God. And if we're going to understand this, we have to juxtapose what we know about Sardis with what we know about Christ and what we know about the crisis in the church. First, what we know about Sardis. Sardis is a city about 50 miles to the east of Smyrna. Sardis was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, which fell to Cyrus the Great of Persia during the reign of Croesus. That's important to know. It appears to have had a large, powerful, and wealthy community of Jewish exiles. Note that in your mind. There is a large, powerful, wealthy Jewish community. And we know this because of having uncovered a very large synagogue that was there during the second century A.D. Ramsey pointed out that The two churches condemned most harshly belong to the only two cities of the seven that are completely uninhabited in modern times, Sardis and Laodicea. Sardis hosted many pagan cults, just like the rest of the cities around them. There were worship of these pagan cults. There were Greek gods and goddesses. And there were others who were locally identified with emperors. So here's the situation in Sardis, and here's how Sardis is different. All of these individuals are dealing with pagan Roman culture. Every last one of them. And so we have the Church of Jesus Christ being established within the context of cultures that are pagan, that are in direct opposition to biblical Christianity. We know that ultimately this leads to persecution, a persecution under demission. We know that it is this persecution that has brought John to the island of Patmos in exile because of preaching the gospel, because of preaching the Word of God. Therefore, over and over and over again in the message to these churches, one of the things that we've seen is that although they did other things right, one of the things, for example, in the church of Ephesus, was that they had fallen away from their first love or from that first principle, which was the proclamation of the gospel. They were willing to clean the house within. They hated the work of the Nicolaitans. However, when it came to their witness on the outside, in order to avoid persecution, they were silent. We also saw on last week in Thyatira that this woman Jezebel, as she is called, referring to the Jezebel of the Old Testament, because of her leading individuals into idolatry and sexual immorality, was basically leading individuals in that church to participate in the idolatry and sexual immorality of the pagan temples so that they could be members of the merchant guilds and therefore get good jobs and provide for their families by just compromising a little. Sardis, however, is different. In Sardis, you have the presence of pagan Roman culture, but not to the same degree. But you also have a large, wealthy, powerful Jewish community. Why is that significant? Well, the edict of religio illicite is what makes that significant. In the Roman Empire, you had religio illicite, religio illicite, or legal religion or illegal religion. And when the Roman Empire would take over a particular area or a particular region, there were certain religions that were deemed religio illicite, or legal religions. If you practice a religion that was outside of that realm, it was religio illicite. It was not allowed and could be punished by death. Judaism was fully legal to practice within the confines of the Roman Empire. We see this throughout the Gospels. We see that they had the Sanhedrin, for example. The Sanhedrin was a legal body within the Roman Empire, there, for example, in Jerusalem, where they were allowed, under Roman rule, to govern themselves as Jews. They could practice, they could go to the temple, they could have sacrifices. All of these things could happen under Roman rule because Judaism was religio-licite. Christianity, as long as it was thought to just be a sect of Judaism, was also considered religio-licite. However, when it was recognized that Christianity was not a sect of Judaism, problem number one, and that number two, Their profession of faith was Jesus is Lord in direct contradiction to the statement that Caesar is Lord. And number three, that they would not participate in the feasts or the idol worship of Rome. Then Christianity was persecuted and crushed. What does this have to do with Sardis? Everywhere else, you're in a pagan Roman culture, and you stick out like a sore thumb, and they say, you don't worship like us. You don't worship our emperor. We're going to persecute you. Here you have a large, wealthy, powerful Jewish community that is practicing the legal religion of Judaism that is not being persecuted. which is going to lead to two things. One, Sardis is going to be filled with a much more polite religious clientele, if you will. The citizens of Sardis are going to be much more palatable. The citizens of Sardis, many of them are going to be Jews or influenced by the Jews. They're going to dress differently. They're going to speak differently. They're going to worship similarly. They're going to have the similar texts These Christians had their Old Testament, and these Jews had their Old Testament or their Torah. These Christians are receiving the letters of the New Testament, but again, they're very similar to their Jewish counterparts. So they're not looked upon as freaks and sardis like they were everywhere else, which meant that they could blend. What did that lead to? First of all, let's look at the portrait of Christ. There's Sardis, but how does Christ introduce himself here in Sardis? Remember, everywhere else he's introduced himself. He's gone back to chapter 1. We saw him in all of his glory in Revelation chapter 1. And in chapter 2 and chapter 3, he introduces himself to the various churches using characteristics that, number one, are found in chapter 1, but secondly, that are directly related to the judgment that he warns the church of. So how does he introduce himself to Sardis? To the angel of the church of Sardis write, the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Now, the seven stars, the seven spirits of God, to what does that refer? If you remember we saw that earlier, go back to chapter one. And look beginning at verse 4. John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come. We said that referred to the Father. And from the seven spirits who are before His throne. That's the question we have to answer. And from Jesus Christ. So, grace and peace to you from the Father, from some reference that we need to clarify, and from Jesus Christ. Now, generally speaking, we would expect this to be a Trinitarian greeting from the Father and the Son and the Spirit. However, we have the Father, we don't have the Spirit, we have the seven Spirits, and then we have the Son. So these things are out of order. And if you remember, when we looked at that, what we said was, these things are out of order because John is using temple language. And he is placing these seven spirits of God in the place of this lampstand that is there before the altar before God in the temple. And what we said was this is Trinitarian language. It's the Father and the Spirit and the Son. But remember this number seven in the book of Revelation is an important number because it refers to completion or fullness. So this idea of the seven Spirits of God is the fullness of the Spirit of God or the completeness of the Spirit of God. So Jesus introduces himself to Sardis as the one who has the fullness of the Spirit of God, the completeness of the Spirit of God. What are the seven stars? The seven stars are the seven angels of the particular seven churches. Now it's either referring literally to angels, or to the pastors, or to spiritual representatives of the church. I believe it refers to those who are leading the church. But regardless of that, Jesus identifies himself as the one with the fullness of the spirit of God, and secondly, the one with the spiritual representatives of the church. Listen to this in Zechariah 4, 1 through 7, because this is important. Remember the charge against Sardis. The charge against Sardis is you have a reputation that says you're alive, that you have spiritual life, spiritual vitality, but you are actually dead. Who is identifying their spiritual death? The one with the fullness of the Spirit of God. That's who it is. Listen to this in Zechariah 4, 1 through 7. And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me like a man who was awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, what do you see? I said, I see behold a lampstand all of gold with a bowl on the top of it and seven lamps on it with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left. And I said to the angel who talked with me, what are these, my Lord? Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, do you not know what these are? I said, no, my Lord. Then he said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountains, before Zerubbabel? You shall become a plain and you shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of grace, grace to it. What do these lampstands mean, my Lord? It's the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit. What is it here? It's the same word. Not by might or by power, but by my spirit. What are they trying to accomplish in Sardis? They're trying to accomplish going along to get along. They're trying to accomplish not being persecuted. The portrait of these two is astounding. If you look at these in a side-by-side comparison, here's what you see. In chapter 3, verse 1, you see that the church in Sardis corporately has a reputation or a name. Chapter 3, verse 4, you have still a few names in Sardis, direct contrast. How are they contrasted? One, reputation versus reality. First, the church corporately. They're thought to be alive, but they're actually dead, and their works are incomplete. What about individuals who do have life? Well, first, they have not soiled their garments. Second, they will walk with me in white. And third, they are worthy. We'll talk about what these things mean in a moment, but I want you to see the parallel now. Then there's warning and a promise. What does he say to the church? If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief And you will not know what hour I will come against you." To the individuals, what does he say? To the one who conquers, he will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. And thirdly, I will confess his name before my Father and before the angels. What do we see about the church? First, the corporate versus individual comparison. Why does Jesus refer to the church at Sardis as being dead? Look at the second part of this first verse. I know your works. You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, strengthen what remains, and is about to die. For, here's the answer, I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. What is that a reference to? I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Well, when you look at the message to the other churches, I believe the message is an obvious one. Not having found their works complete is them not having proclaimed the gospel as they ought. One of the ways you see this is this. Look at verse 9. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my father and before his angels." I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. What do we find in the New Testament about those who were ashamed of him? If you were ashamed of me, I'll be ashamed of you. If you don't confess Him before men, He doesn't confess you before His Father who is in heaven. Why are their works incomplete? Because they are not confessing Christ in the midst of the culture of Sardis. Why are they not confessing Christ in the midst of the culture of Sardis? Because they want to go along to get along. They don't want to be persecuted. They want to be liked. They want people to appreciate them. So they don't do the complete works. He doesn't say they don't do any works. He says that works are not found complete before God. And again, especially when you go back to Ephesus, we're talking about the proclamation of the gospel. So it's not that we don't proclaim the gospel at all in a setting like this. It is that we sort of shift the way that we proclaim the gospel in a setting like this. Isn't it ironic that you find here Jews and Gentiles in the same city and this church that has an opportunity to have a witness among both? What does that sound like? Sounds like the missionary journeys of Paul. Turn with me to the left. And look at the book of Acts. Look at the book of Acts, chapter 17. Beginning verse one. Here's what happens when you're in a city where there's a prominent Jewish synagogue and prominent Jewish people and you go in preaching the whole counsel of God, the whole gospel. Now, when they had passed through Amphipolis, And Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ. And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas and did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. That's what happens when the church preaches the whole gospel to the Jewish synagogue. What happened when Jesus preached the gospel to the Jews as a Jew? He ended up being crucified. What happened when Paul preached the gospel as a Jew to the Jews in the synagogue? He was often beaten and run out of town or turned over to the Roman authorities. So when you preach the gospel to the Jews, here's the problem. You say to the Jews, who by the way are the religious leaders in their community. They have the most wholesome lives in their community. They're identified by the way they dress, by the way they speak, by the way they keep their beards. They're identified by all of these things. You come to the most religious people in your city and you preach the gospel to them and you say you're washing the outside of the cup but on the inside you're filled with dead man's bones. Repent and believe the gospel. The Messiah that you're waiting for has come. Stop waiting for the Messiah who is already here. Know you believe you have everything and know everything but you don't Christ is the Messiah God wrapped in flesh who died for sin rose again on the third day. You don't need the temple to come back There's been a once-for-all sacrifice your way of life is gone You preach that to the Jews? What did it do for Paul Arrested, beaten, shipwrecked, arrested, beaten, beaten, arrested, arrested, beaten, beaten. That's what it got him. He was just passing through. What would happen to a church in a city with a large, powerful, wealthy Jewish community that preached the gospel in an unadulterated fashion on an ongoing basis, they would be crushed by that Jewish community. That's what would have happened in Sardis. So they backed off of that. On the other side of them, you have the pagan Roman culture. with all of its gods. By the way, Acts chapter 17, again, same Paul, same paragraph. Now he's had to go somewhere else, because everywhere he went, there was either a revival or a revolt or both. Now he's standing in the midst of the Areopagus. These are not Jews. When he's with the Jews, he's reasoning from the scriptures. Look what he does. in the midst of the Areopagus on Mars Hill. Verse 22, chapter 17. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus said, men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For I passed along and observed objects of your worship. I found also an altar with this inscription, to the unknown God. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world, By the way, here's what Paul just did. I walked through your Greco-Roman city, and I saw your Greco-Roman idols. One of your Greco-Roman idols said to an unknown god, as though you're hoping that if a God that you don't know about comes here, he won't be offended. By the way, what you worship as unknown, I'm about to proclaim to you. You think you're right, but you're wrong. What's the first thing that he says to him? The true God is not worshiped by idols. I walked around in your city and I found idols. The true God doesn't appreciate idols. He probably got that right out of how to win friends and influence people, right? Not so in Sardis. So what's happening in Sardis? Here's what's happening in Sardis. They're not offending the Jews and they're not offending the Greeks because their works are incomplete. They're not preaching the whole counsel of God. As a result of that, they're not offending anybody, and they're probably experiencing a pretty steady growth, which is why their reputation is that they're alive. The church is growing. People are coming. We are alive. Jesus says, you're not alive, you're a lie. The fact of the matter is you're dead. and you're dead because the whole counsel of God is not there you're dead because you're preaching not to offend people instead of preaching the whole counsel of God which is always offensive to people he warns them that he's going to come like a thief in the night look at what he says There's several things that he requires of them, but before that, look at this, the thief of the night. He says, remember then what you've received and heard, keep it and repent. 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. This is amazing. This verse, first of all, refers to Jesus saying in Matthew chapter 24, and also in other passages, Here's what you need to know. That saying about Jesus coming as a thief in the night always refers to his second coming. Everywhere else in the New Testament where you see that phrase, it refers to the second coming. 1 Thessalonians 5, 2. Verse 4 of that same chapter. for that day to surprise you like a thief. 2 Peter 3, 10, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and its works that are done on it will be exposed. And then Revelation chapter 16, verse 15, behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed. This is a picture of what we see in Matthew chapter 7. Can't you hear the echo? You have a reputation of being alive, but you're dead. It's not true. The other reason that this is important is because Sardis had an Acropolis that had never been taken in battle. It was strong. No one who had ever attacked the city of Sardis had taken the Acropolis at Sardis in battle head-on. But twice, enemies snuck in under cover of darkness and defeated the city. You better believe they understood exactly what Jesus was saying. You think you're invincible, but just like this city thought it was invincible and twice was taken under cover of darkness. If you do not repent, I will come like a thief in the night. You do not know when, but judgment will come. What about this other picture of white garments? Listen to this from... Craig Keener notes that in Asia Minor there were many instances of writings that have been found that say that individuals who would come to these pagan temples who had soiled garments would be turned away, that they could not come in, that they could not worship because their garments were not clean. Again and again and again, we see this picture of white garments throughout the book of Revelation. And we'll see it again and again and again. It refers to the purity of the people of God, to the purity of their works. But then there's this other phrase that he uses. They not only have white garments, but he says they are worthy. That word worthy is used in 411, 5254, 59512. Every time it's used, it refers to Christ and Christ only. This is the only time in Revelation that this word is used and it refers to the followers of Christ. What has he said? You have a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments. They will walk with me in white for they are worthy. They will in the future walk with me in white because they are worthy. What is Jesus referring to here? Is Jesus saying that these individuals based upon something in and of themselves have lived their lives in such a way that they're going to walk with me because of what they've done. Or, look at the tenses here again. You still have a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments. They haven't. They are faithful right now because they haven't soiled their garments. They will walk with me in white. They're going to walk with me in white. But there's something in the middle between you haven't soiled your garments in the past and you will walk with me in white in the future. Jesus says that's not in question. He has no doubt that they're going to walk with him in white. Why? Because they are worthy. And they're going to remain worthy. Why? Because it is an alien worthiness. It is an alien righteousness. It is the purity and holiness and righteousness of Christ himself who is upon them. You see, these individuals have a reputation that they're alive, but they're actually dead. Why are they dead? Because the Spirit of the Living God does not rest on the church. These other individuals have an actual name and a real name. Why do they have a real name? Because the Spirit of the Living God does rest on them. They do belong to Him. Their garments are clean because of the righteousness of Christ. They are going to walk with Him in white. Christ knows this. Why? Because His righteousness has become their righteousness. That's what it means to be saved, saints. My garments are not soiled. It almost doesn't even feel right to say that, because I know me. Amen? I am clean before God. How can any human being say that? You can't. You can't, apart from the righteousness that we find in Christ. You can't. I will walk with Him in white. How can I say that? How arrogant is that? That I believe that I'm going to keep myself clean enough and pure enough to walk with Him in white. No, that's not what I said. Because just like the cleanness of my garments are not a result of my own works, my walking with Him in white is not a result of my own works either. It is Him who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure. The reason that Christ is confident that they will walk with Him in white is because He not only saves, but He keeps. Amen? What does He say to the church? He calls the church to repent, and this is important. This is very important. He says that the church is dead, but that there are individuals who still have life. Notice that there's a difference between this and what we find in Ephesians chapter two. In Ephesians chapter two, we're dead in our trespasses and sins. He's talking about us individually. Here, he's talking about a church corporately. So he's talking about the overall state of the church in Sardis. And yet there is a remnant in that church that is dead overall. What does he say to the church? Four things, really five. One, wake up. He invites believers to a spiritual response different from the city whose Acropolis has fallen because of its lack of military readiness. Wake up, be alert, that's what he says. And it's a direct reference to the Acropolis and how it was taken. Wake up, know that you are not invincible. Know that it is possible for you to be destroyed. Know that what I'm saying is true. Wake up. Wake up from your, not just your slumber, but wake up from your arrogance and your confidence. Because you think that because you're not being persecuted by the Jews or the Greeks, and people are actually coming into your church, that you're okay. When the fact of the matter is they're coming because you're dead! And they have nothing to fear. You know in some ways the church ought to be the scariest place on planet earth? Amen. Why should a person who is a sinner, who is openly and blatantly sinful, ever feel comfortable and confident walking into a place where the holy and righteous God and judge of the universe is worshipped by those whose garments have been made white? Secondly, he says, strengthen what remains and is about to die. Strengthen what remains and is about to die. We must recognize that there is always a tendency for sin to spread like yeast. As one pastor has said, you've never heard of glovey mud. What glove-y mud? Yeah, you put a glove into mud, the mud doesn't get glove-y, but the glove always gets muddy. Sin does that. Don't we see that with our children? We can bring our children around people who are walking in godliness, and we just sit there and go, ooh, why doesn't some of that rub off? But you let them spend 15 seconds around people who are doing stuff they're not supposed to do. And what happens? They're gone. If you can't say amen, you ought to say ouch. That's what happens. He says, strengthen what remains that is about to die. This stuff spreads like gangrene. You see, when you're in a church that is filled with compromise, here's what has a tendency to happen. Folks, we're here. and the Romans like us, and the Jews like us, and we have favor in this community and we are growing. Now somebody stands up and says, yeah, that's because you're not preaching the gospel in a way that would offend the Jews because you're not preaching the whole counsel of God. And you're not standing against the Roman cults in a way that would offend them. There's no power here. There's no life here. Oh, really? Did you look around and see how many people we have? Who are you to say there's no life here? God is obviously blessing us because we're growing and we're not being persecuted. So you just go on somewhere. Don't raise your hand if you've ever experienced that before. Strengthen what remains. God gives hope here. Remember what you have received and heard. Folks, this points directly back to the gospel. How often have we heard phrases like this in reference to the gospel? We cannot but proclaim what we have seen and heard. He says here, remember what you've seen and heard. Remember what? Remember the gospel. Wake up, strengthen what remains. Remember what you've seen and heard. Remember the gospel. Remember the gospel that you used to preach until you got your hands slapped and then found a way to preach in a way that didn't offend other people. Remember that gospel and there's hope for you. And then he says, keep it. Keep it. Why does he say that? Because we always have to work to keep it. There was always a tendency to let it go. We don't like getting our hands slapped. We don't like being called names. We don't like being maligned in the culture. So our natural tendency is always to move away from the fullness of the gospel. And it starts very small. We redefine terms so that we don't have to be offensive to people. We hide certain truths so that we don't have to be offensive to people. We emphasize some things as opposed to others so that we don't have to be offensive to people. Finally, he says, repent. Repentance is the battle cry of every Christian. Turn, turn from your sin, turn to the Lord. That's the picture. Repent. Wake up. Strengthen what remains. Remember what you've seen and heard. Keep it. Hold on to it. And repent. Repent. How many of you know that it's not quite enough to just move in another direction? If we don't acknowledge our sin as sin and intentionally turn in the opposite direction of our sin, there is no restoration. Repent, a change in attitude that leads to a change in behavior. And then there's the last piece, the promise and portrait of victory. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels." What has Sardis done? In some ways, they have failed to confess the name of Christ before the powerful, wealthy Jewish community and the pagan Roman community. Because of that, they've soiled their garments. And because of that, they have individuals within the context and confines of their church who are unregenerate, but think they're Christian. You recognize that. You have some people in your church, a few people in your church, who are actually saved. That's what Jesus says. There's a few people in your church who are actually saved, but most of the people in your church are not even saved. You're dead. You're dead. What is His promise to the conquerors? You'll walk with me in white. Your garments will be clean. Your name will never be blotted out. Never. Why will your name not be blotted out? Because Jesus not only saves, He keeps. And finally, I'll confess your name before my Father and His angels. There's the picture of what He promises here in Sardis. I believe that we need to hear and to heed the warning to this church. And I believe it for at least several reasons. Here's number one. We need to hear and heed the warning to the church in Sardis because all of us have the same tendency to want to be liked by our culture, respected by our culture, and to have evidence of that by people wanting to be with us and be around us. Every last one of us, sort of, well, most of us, feel better when there's more people here. Amen? Feel like something's happening, something's good. There's more people here. We're having to put out more chairs. We, watch this, must be doing something right. Why? The mere fact that there's more people here. If we begin to think like that, then here's how we also begin to think. Whatever we do that brings more people, is the right thing. That's the wrong answer. That's the wrong answer. Not that we're against people, not that we're against people being saved, but that's the wrong answer. Here's the second reason that we need to hear and heed this, because we live in the midst of a culture that is offended by many of the things that we hold dear. primarily the gospel of Jesus Christ. We live in a culture of people who are offended by the gospel. Even people who call themselves Christians who are offended by the gospel and the whole counsel of God. We live in the midst of a culture of people who are offended definitely by the implications of the gospel. You start talking about what the gospel means as it relates to the way that you live your life and all of a sudden you're on the outside looking in. And we don't like that. We don't like that. Here's another reason that we need to hear and heed this. Because I don't believe that it is too great a stretch to apply this to the way that we raise our children. There are many of us who are in this very same danger Because all we want is for our children to behave in a way that doesn't embarrass us. If they just behave in a way that doesn't embarrass us, we're great. That's enough. That's all that matters. If they look the right way, and speak the right way, and dress the right way, and act the right way, If they will just do those things so that people will applaud us and pat us on the back, here's what begins to happen. I enjoy being applauded and patted on the back because of the outward behavior of my children. So my focus and my attention goes to the outward behavior of my children. And I continue to neglect the fact that their greatest need is on the inside and not on the outside. How many times do we hear, I got this child who's a problem, but this one who's a really good kid. Do you know what it means to be a really good kid? That you're not outwardly rebellious. Do you know there are parents who say that about children who are unregenerate and don't know God? good kid. Why? Doesn't embarrass me, doesn't cause me problems. And that's all that matters in life. And so there are scores of children who were not rebellious when they were young, who are absolutely lost. and utterly bankrupt on the inside because they got very little time and attention of gospel-based, gospel-centered, earnest parenting. Because they already had everything their parents wanted. Shut up. Don't cause me problems. Don't embarrass me. You act like that, I'm not worried about you going to heaven because that is heaven. God help us. God help us. Here's the other side. The danger on the other side is this. Well, here they were in Sardis and they compromised because the Jews weren't persecuting them and the pagans weren't persecuting them. So how do we know when we're doing it right, when everybody hates us? And so we end up being loud and obnoxious and defensive and unkind and not Christ-like. And then we pat ourselves on the back because people hate us. Because by God, that means we're doing it right. Do you understand there's a ditch on both sides of the road? Yes, we should be wary when all men speak well of us. Amen. But we ought also to be a little bit worried when all men speak evil of us. If everybody says you're obnoxious, then you're not a faithful witness. You're just obnoxious. Amen. If nobody wants to be around you to hear the gospel that you're so committed to preaching to everybody, then you're not a faithful witness. You're just obnoxious. If you have to constantly make excuses for the way that you put people off and turn people off when you talk to them, you're not holding down the truth. You're just obnoxious. And that does not commend the gospel well. So what do we do? We preach the whole counsel of God. We preach it faithfully and pray that God, by the power and presence of His Spirit, not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, amen? It's not our techniques. It's not our marketing, it's not those things, it's the power of God and the spirit of God. We faithfully and winsomely preach the gospel. When you preach the gospel in a faithful and winsome way, what will you find? You'll find the same thing that Paul found in Acts chapter 17. When he was in the synagogue, some people believed and followed him. Amen. Other people got a mob together to go after him. What happened when he preached on Mars Hill? Some people believed him and followed him. Other people mocked him and called him names. What does a faithful, vibrant, Spirit-filled church look like in this regard? It preaches the gospel faithfully. Some people are shaken from their slumber. And the Spirit of God brings them to repentance and they're saved. Other people hear it and run away. We never back down on the gospel. Never, ever, ever. But we also never make ourselves the rock of offense. Because the gospel does that more than adequately all on its own. Amen? Let's pray.