5. The Church at Sardis
Echos of the Apocalypse • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The Church at Sardis
La Iglesia de Sardis
What is this sermon supposed to do?
Wake up the church to be “watchful” and “diligent”
INTRO:
Reminder:
FORMAT OF LETTERS TO THE 7 CHURCHES:
1. “To the angel of the church of...”
2. “These are the words of...” (Description of Jesus as it relates to each particular church).
3. “I know your works/deeds” (Words of commendation/ “elogio”).
4. “But I have this against you” (only Smyrna and Philadelphia not rebuked by the Lord).
5. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” And He gives a promise of some future gain.
TEXT (English):
1 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.
2 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.
3 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.
4 “Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
5 All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.
6 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
TEXT (Spanish):
1 »Escribe esta carta al ángel de la iglesia de Sardis. Este es el mensaje de aquél que tiene el Espíritu de Dios de siete aspectos y las siete estrellas: »Yo sé todo lo que haces y que tienes la fama de estar vivo, pero estás muerto.
2 ¡Despierta! Fortalece lo poco que te queda, porque hasta lo que queda está a punto de morir. Veo que tus acciones no cumplen con los requisitos de mi Dios.
3 Vuelve a lo que escuchaste y creíste al principio, y retenlo con firmeza. Arrepiéntete y regresa a mí. Si no despiertas, vendré a ti de repente, cuando menos lo esperes, como lo hace un ladrón.
4 »Sin embargo, hay algunos en la iglesia de Sardis que no se han manchado la ropa con maldad. Ellos caminarán conmigo vestidos de blanco, porque son dignos.
5 Todos los que salgan vencedores serán vestidos de blanco. Nunca borraré sus nombres del libro de la vida, sino que anunciaré delante de mi Padre y de sus ángeles que ellos me pertenecen.
6 »Todo el que tenga oídos para oír debe escuchar al Espíritu y entender lo que él dice a las iglesias.
BODY:
In every instance up until now, Jesus has had something good to say about everyone of the churches, before He launches into His rebuke of each one...
Ephesus: “Hard work, patient endurance (perseverancia), reject evil, suffering for Christ” Revelation 2:2–3
Smyrna: “Enduring suffering & poverty” Revelation 2:9
Pergamum: “Loyal to Christ, refused to deny Him” Revelation 2:13
Thyatira: “Love, faith, service, patient endurance (perseverancia), constant improvement...” Revelation 2:19
But then we get to Sardis… Jesus has nothing good to say about this church.
The closest thing to a compliment here is...
Revelation 3:4 (NLT) -“Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil....”
Revelation 3:4 (NTV) - “Sin embargo, hay algunos en la iglesia de Sardis que no se han manchado la ropa con maldad...”
“It is noteworthy that Jesus does not call the righteous believers in the church of Sardis to migrate to another city or even start an alternative church elsewhere in town.”
-Craig Keener (American Theologian)
“The Church at Sardis was untroubled by any attack from the outside, neither by the heathen or by the Jews. The truth was that it was so lifeless that it was not worth attacking.”
-William Barclay (Scottish Theologian)
EXPOSITION:
Revelation 3:1–6 (NLT)
1 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.
2 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.
3 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.
4 “Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
5 All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.
6 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
V.1
Reminiscent of Revelation 1:4 “This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne;”
This is a reference to the Sevenfold Ministry (Ministerio Septuple) of the Holy Spirit.
Also, 7 is understood to represent perfection in the Bible. So also a reference to the perfect Holy Spirit of God.
Isaiah 11:2–3 (NLT)
2 And
the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— (Jehovah)
the Spirit of wisdom and (wisdom to grow in the knowlege of God Eph. 1:17)
understanding, (Discernment)
the Spirit of counsel (The H.S. is the counselor, Isa. 9:6 ...”he will be called: Wonderful Counselor/Consejero Maravilloso)
and might (power),
the Spirit of knowledge and (understanding of the deep things of God Mt 11:27).
the fear of the Lord. (reverential, obedient fear)
Isaiah 11:2–3 (NTV)
2 Y
el Espíritu del Señor reposará sobre él:
el Espíritu de sabiduría y
de entendimiento,
el Espíritu de consejo y
de poder,
el Espíritu de conocimiento y
de temor del Señor.
7 stars are the angels of the 7 churches (Rev. 1:20)
CONCERN:
“I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.” -Rev. 3:1.
V.2
“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.” -Rev. 3:2.
the exhortation...
This church is eroding away!
Doctrines get softened / Gospel is getting watered down.
When this happens the church loses her influence. This is extremely dangerous. For one the value of human life gets eroded. Equality, civil rights, women's rights, the right to live (i.e. abortion) are all predicated on the belief that we are made in the image of God and therefore all equally valuable. When the church falls asleep evil starts to gain ground.
When abortion (Row vs. Wade) was overturned back in June 2022, I was shocked at how little was heard from the church!! We should have been celebrating in the streets. But the church today doesn’t want to offend people so they sell out.
We have big churches with lots of stuff happening, but it’s all just for show… most churches today like with Sardis are spiritually dead.
“Wake up!” -Be watchful of:
The whiles of the devil
temptation
Jesus’ coming (The church today is not watching for His return)
False teachers
Strengthen what little remains: basic doctrines...
Salvation by faith alone
Inerrant Bible
Man is depraved incurably wicked (Needs to be born again)
Redemption by the blood of Christ (no one talks about the blood of Christ anymore)
You're actions don’t meet (no cumplen) the requirements of my God… You’re attitude toward God is a direct result of your personal devotion to God. People who don’t spend time with God (reading scripture, praying) have no fear or reverence for the Lord! They treat Him like a buddy (camarada) rather than God!!!
V.3
“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.” -v3
If you hold fast and repent you won’t be caught by surprise:
END:
There are really dark days coming to the earth.
Many will be caught of guard… in what’s coming up next on God’s calendar.
We are staring down the barrel of a 3rd world war…
Far too many people aren’t ready for how the world is about to change, and more importantly too many are not prepared for their encounter with the God who gave them life!!!
2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
2 porque ya saben que el día del Señor llegará como ladrón en la noche.
15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
15 «¡Cuidado! ¡Vengo como un ladrón! Dichoso el que se mantenga despierto, con su ropa a la mano, no sea que ande desnudo y sufra vergüenza por su desnudez.»
Matthew 7:21–23 “21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’”
Matthew 7:21–23 »No todo el que me dice: “Señor, Señor”, entrará en el reino de los cielos, sino sólo el que hace la voluntad de mi Padre que está en el cielo. Muchos me dirán en aquel día: “Señor, Señor, ¿no profetizamos en tu nombre, y en tu nombre expulsamos demonios e hicimos muchos milagros?” Entonces les diré claramente: “Jamás los conocí. ¡Aléjense de mí, hacedores de maldad!”
Rev. 3:4 says… Only a few in there are saved!!! (I wonder if the same is true for us today?)
Only a few will be worthy
The message to Sardis and us today is “watchfulness” and “diligence”.
Watch out for the devils schemes
Be diligent about your walk with the Lord
There are really dark days coming to the earth.
Many will be caught of guard… in what’s coming up next on God’s calendar.
We are staring down the barrel of a 3rd world war…
18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.
18 La tercera parte de la humanidad murió a causa de las tres plagas de fuego, humo y azufre que salían de la boca de los caballos.
22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
22 Si no se acortaran esos días, nadie sobreviviría, pero por causa de los elegidos se acortarán.
“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.” -Rev. 3:2.