Revival Is Imperative

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This is a sermon based on Revelation 3:1-6 which speaks about the church in Sardis. The theme of the text is regarding the need for the church to come alive and be revived.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:

Today we are continuing our series of messages from Revelation concerning the seven churches in the province of Asia during the time of the Roman Empire.

Sardis is the next church that is mentioned by the risen Christ. It was a city that was located approximately 33 miles south of Thyatira. It was situated on the Pactolus river in the middle of the Hermus Valley and the foot of Mount Tmolus.

Several centuries earlier, before either the Greek or Roman Empires, Sardis was a city of splendor, wealth and power. It had been situated on a plateau that was part of Mount Tmolus, and had been considered unconquerable. Eventually the city spread down into the valley by the river, and it basically consisted of two cities, one in the valley and one on the mountain. At the time of John’s writing, Sardis was wealthy but degenerate. Even the once-great citadel was now just a monument on top of the mountain.

I want to follow the same basic outline that we have been using in this series, so we will begin by looking at

I. A Word of Revelation (v. 1)

He who holds the seven spirits and the seven stars.

This was something we discussed in the first chapter…

This is probably a reference to the Holy Spirit. The number seven is included because it is a significant number throughout scripture; symbolically emphasizing perfection, completion and universality. It is further argued by some scholars that the number seven refers to the diversity or fullness of the Holy Spirit’s gifts and operations in the church/world.

“Seven Stars” – We are told that these represent the seven “angels” or messengers of the seven churches.

The Lord is revealing himself as the one who oversees the ministry of the Holy Spirit and holds the churches in His power and control.

II. A Word of Commendation (v. 4)

In the messages to the churches mentioned previously, the “word of commendation” came before the “accusation,” but not in this case.

The accusation comes first in the case of Sardis, which we will get to in just a moment.

The commendation goes to just part of the congregation. It does not consist of a list of “works” that they have performed in obedience to and for the glory of God. It is simply a positive statement of affirmation for those who have are not dead.

There are some who “have not defiled (soiled) their garments.”

Possibly a reference to the practice of giving white robes to baptismal candidates after they came out of the water to symbolize their new life. This would refer to the one who had not forsaken his or her baptismal vows of faith, obedience and devotion to the Lord.

Jas. 1:27 – part of the description of “pure religion” included: keeping himself or herself “unspotted from the world.”

God always has a remnant of faithful people in every generation who remain true to their original commitment to him and do not allow themselves to be deceived, entangled, or soiled by the ungodly influences of the world around them.

Even in the midst of decline and “death” it is possible to stay alive and live pleasing to the Lord!

III. A Word of Accusation (v. 1, 2b)

This is a very simple, straight-forward accusation that comes from the Lord.

“I know your works and you have a name (reputation) that you are alive, but you are dead.”

And, “I have not found your works perfect (mature, complete) before God.”

(Barclay) This church was not practicing any heresy, and it was not under attack (persecution) from the outside.

It had simply died spiritually. One dies by simply not doing the things that sustain life. Nourishment; Exercise; Purpose; etc. – these are the things that promote life. Without these, life will ebb away and death will certainly come.

IV. A Word of Exhortation (v. 2a, 3)

Watch – (Barclay) Probably a direct reference to the history of the once-great citadel of Sardis that sat upon the plateau of the mountain. It was considered impregnable, unconquerable because of its position. However, twice in its history it was conquered because the enemy found a way to scale the mountain side and enter the city which was unguarded and no one was watching. (They felt there was no need to watch.)

In verse 3b, the Lord says He will come like a thief when they are not watching. Very similar to the parables Jesus used to tell about the coming of the Lord. Seems to be an obvious implication of coming judgment.

Strengthen – exercise the things that promote health and life.

Someone said many years ago, “What does one have to do to lose his soul? Nothing.” The point was, loss of spiritual life and vitality is the natural process when one does nothing to preserve, strengthen and invigorate his or her life.

Remember – pres. impv.; keep on remembering how your received the gospel.

Hold fast (Keep) – pres. impv.; (Barclay) do not stop keeping (obeying) the commands of the gospel that you understood from the beginning.

Repent – aor. impv.; describes one definite or completed action; “there must be a time when a person decides to be done with the old way and begin with the new.” (Barclay)

Conclusion:

As we have mentioned from the very beginning of this series, we are looking at these words of prophecy with the understanding that they were written to a specific people in a specific time for a specific purpose. However, we also understand that every prophecy in Scripture has a valid application to the believers in every age. This message is no exception.

How sad for a church, called by the name of Jesus Christ, to have a reputation of being alive. (There must have been plenty going on in this church to give the impression to outsiders and others that there was life.) Yet, in spite of what others thought, the Lord looks at the church and declares it is dead!

We can look around us and point our fingers and assume that this only applies to others, but not us. However, we are just as vulnerable to dying out spiritually as any other congregation ever was. And, we will die also if we don’t take the admonition and exhortation to heart.

We also need to watch; strengthen; remember; hold fast; and repent.

Couple of quotes I’ve seen posted on facebook lately.

“Spiritual awakening means that the faithful become fiery, the decent become dynamic, and the acceptable become excellent. But, most of all, we become disgusted with our evil, and totally dissatisfied with our good.” Quoted from, "Critical Mass - A Strategy for a North American Revival” by Mario Murillo

I'm sick to death of the so-called Christianity of our day. What's supernatural about it? When do people come out of the sanctuary awed and can't speak for an hour because God has been in glory there? Dear God, as soon as they get out, they're talking football, or sports or something or there's going to be a big sale downtown or somewhere. We are not caught up into eternity!                                    - Leonard Ravenhill

May God help us to recognize the danger of dying spiritually. May He grant us the fervent desire to take the necessary steps to keep revived in our hearts even as the world around us becomes more and more pagan.