1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:03,640 With excitement, I invite you to the Book of Revelation in 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:08,160 chapter 3, and I trust that you have a copy of God's Word with 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,760 you today. And if you don't own a Bible, 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:15,280 come see me after the service. Want to be able to provide you 5 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:18,520 one? Can you believe that we are 6 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:20,600 already in chapter 3 of the Book of Revelation? 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,400 Let's begin by reading what the Lord Jesus Christ says to the 8 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:38,040 church in Sardis and verse one down to verse 6 and to the Angel 9 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:42,280 of the church in Sardis, write the words of him who has the 10 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:46,280 seven spirits of God and the seven stars. 11 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:50,600 I know your works. You have a reputation of being 12 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:56,080 alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen what 13 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,640 remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works 14 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,920 complete in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received 15 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,320 and heard. Keep it and repent. 16 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,280 If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will 17 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:13,280 not know at what hour I will come against you. 18 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,960 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not 19 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:21,600 soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for 20 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,400 they are worthy. The one who conquers will be 21 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:29,800 clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot His name 22 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:33,600 out of the Book of life. I will confess His name before 23 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:37,600 my Father and before His angels. He was an ear. 24 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,600 Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 25 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,800 It's helpful to remember that as we're studying these letters 26 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:52,280 that we are almost done. When Christ introduces Himself 27 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:57,000 in each of these addresses, He does so specifically tailored to 28 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:02,600 the situation of the church. And in the case of the church in 29 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,480 Sardis, we don't have to wait very long to know what the 30 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:09,240 problem is. I'm not sure if you notice, but 31 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,560 Christ does not offer a single word of commendation to this 32 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:18,000 congregation. Not one word of praise, not one 33 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,640 word of encouragement for their present condition. 34 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,560 He goes directly to criticism. He does not waste any time. 35 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:34,280 And the summary of what was wrong with this assembly can be 36 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:39,480 defined in three words. You are dead. 37 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,480 What characterized this ministry was that they were spiritually 38 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,680 dead. There was no life and 39 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,960 recognizing this provides critical insight into the self 40 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,840 descriptions that Christ employs at the outset of the message. 41 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,040 Look back at verse one with me to the Angel of the church in 42 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:05,000 Sardis, write the words of him who has the seven spirits of God 43 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:10,120 and the seven stars. So when I read that, I think to 44 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:12,480 myself, OK, we're dealing with a dead church here. 45 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:17,800 Have you ever been to 1? We're dealing with a lifeless 46 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,880 congregation. So why is it that the Lord Jesus 47 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,760 chooses to describe and highlight these attributes about 48 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:27,320 himself? What's the relevance? 49 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,040 What's the connection? A little investigation will give 50 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:33,480 us the answers. So let's divide this. 51 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,640 Where did we last see the mention of the seven spirits of 52 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:40,600 God? Well, if you've been with us 53 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,160 from the beginning, then you know it's back in chapter 1 at 54 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,200 the Trinitarian introduction of the whole book. 55 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,040 So look with me here. Revelation chapter one, verse 4. 56 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,480 John to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and 57 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:58,560 peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from 58 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,240 the seven spirits who are before his throne and from Jesus 59 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,160 Christ, the faithful witness, the first born of the dead and 60 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:09,360 the ruler of kings on earth. So where we have here what the 61 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,800 Father who is, who was and who is to come, we have the Son 62 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:14,800 right, Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, and between we 63 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:17,320 have the seven spirits who are before his throne. 64 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:25,080 Now we learned this in chapter one that in no way is John 65 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,680 teaching that we believe that there are 7 distinct beings, 66 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,360 spiritual beings who are in equal standing with the Father 67 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:33,440 and the Son. We believe in one Holy Spirit. 68 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:37,320 But we must also remember that the Book of Revelation, as you 69 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,520 and I study this, we must not forget that this book is 70 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,760 dripping with Old Testament references and allusions. 71 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:49,160 It is saturated in them. And so then we have to look at 72 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:51,800 something like Revelation 1/4 and five and ask is there 73 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:53,680 anything in the Hebrew Scriptures that might bring 74 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,160 clarity of to what John is saying here, what he's 75 00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:00,720 describing And there is John is borrowing from Isaiah, the 76 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:05,040 prophets representation of the Holy Spirit's ministry from 77 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:06,960 Isaiah Chapter 11. Do you remember that? 78 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,640 We're in Chapter 11, we're told about the Messiah and the Spirit 79 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,240 that would rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and counsel, 80 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,320 spirit of understanding, the spirit of the fear of the Lord, 81 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,600 etcetera. So what John is doing here is 82 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,160 he's mentioning, yes, these seven spirits, but not speaking 83 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,840 about 7 separate beings. He's referring to the perfect 84 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:34,280 qualities and abilities of the one and only Holy Spirit, the 85 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:39,400 fullness of the Holy Spirit. With this in mind, now we 86 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,240 understand, I'm sure, why Christ is bringing this up to this 87 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:46,080 church. He is signaling to this dead 88 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:51,080 church that He possesses what they need, The invigorating 89 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:56,960 ministry of the Holy Spirit. The fullness of the power and 90 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:01,680 the work of the Holy Spirit. Here's what we have to 91 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:07,000 understand The bottom line of spiritual death in a church 92 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:11,080 results from quenching or grieving the Holy Spirit, 93 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,960 whereas the vitality of a church is sustained when the Spirit is 94 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,240 actively working in and through its members. 95 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:27,520 And this is absolutely true. A church is always in trouble 96 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:32,000 when it becomes less mindful of its need of the Holy Spirit. 97 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:38,480 I mentioned prayer meeting every week in our announcements and we 98 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:41,040 will do so by the grace of God as long as we are a church. 99 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:46,480 Pray every week and almost every week we take time as a church. 100 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:51,480 Whether we have 5202550 who show up to pray for the different 101 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:53,800 ministries of Maranatha Bible Church. 102 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:56,320 Do you know why? Because we wholeheartedly 103 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,360 believe that apart from God's hand on, no matter what we do, 104 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:04,680 we will not know true impact. We need the Holy Spirit of God. 105 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:07,880 We need his help. We need his wisdom, we need his 106 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,520 energy, we need his unifying grace. 107 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:16,840 We need the Holy Spirit. And when any group of Christians 108 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:20,600 feel as though they are not as dependent or that they can just 109 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:25,200 go through the routine, their established standard settings, 110 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,800 they're in trouble. They're in trouble. 111 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:35,040 But that's not the only thing that puts the pulse of a church 112 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:40,080 at risk, because Jesus says that He also has the seven stars, not 113 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:42,680 just the seven spirits of God, but the seven stars. 114 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:45,200 What is he referring to there? Well, again, the answer is back 115 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,480 in chapter 1. In chapter 1, verse 20, we're 116 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,360 told that the seven stars speak of the seven angels of the 117 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:52,840 churches. And we remember when we studied 118 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,400 that, did we not, that the Angel speaks of the overseers of every 119 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,080 church, because the word in the original there can, it speaks of 120 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,040 messengers, and that can also be applied to human messengers. 121 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:09,080 So these seven stars are the pastors of these churches, the 122 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,800 bishops, the elders, all synonymous terms. 123 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:19,240 So why is Jesus telling this church, not only do I possess 124 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:24,040 what you need, the fullness of the work of the Holy Spirit, I 125 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,320 also have the pastors in my hand. 126 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,680 Here's what I believe. Because in many instances the 127 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:33,120 apathy of a church can be attributed to the spiritual 128 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,480 dryness of its leader or leaders. 129 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,559 Here's the general rule. As the pastor is, so will his 130 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,320 church be. If the pastor does not pray, 131 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,120 then he should not expect his people to be passionate about 132 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,480 prayer. If the pastor is not relishing 133 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,880 and revering the Word of God, then the people under his care 134 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,280 will also see little to no value for it. 135 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,000 The pastor is not passionate about pursuing personal holiness 136 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:13,320 about loving Christ in private. And should he expect those that 137 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:17,000 he is called to lead to have that vision for themselves? 138 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:24,160 If a pastor has no concern for the lost, why should he have any 139 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:28,080 idea that the people that he is called to serve with will have a 140 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:34,760 concern for the world? A pastor, whether he realizes it 141 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,480 or not, sets the spiritual temperature of the House of God 142 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:42,680 he's been entrusted with. And it could be that the reason 143 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:46,400 why Jesus brings up the seven stars here is because the elders 144 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:50,320 are greatly responsible for the deadness of their church. 145 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,280 Pray for pastors. Pray for their families. 146 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,840 I'm not saying that because I serve here as an elder. 147 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:03,840 I'm saying that as an objective reality. 148 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,680 Pray for them. Because although each of us will 149 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:12,640 be responsible for our own spiritual vitality, there is so 150 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,960 much that depends on those who are called to lead. 151 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:21,000 And this is a consistent truth throughout Scripture. 152 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:24,360 I'm reminded of the book of Haggai. 153 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:26,720 Have you heard of it? I hope so. 154 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:32,880 It's a it's a small book. And Haggai was sent by God to 155 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:37,280 the people of Israel who returned from exile in Babylon. 156 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,320 And one of their primary duties was to rebuild the temple. 157 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:44,680 But at some point, it became dormant. 158 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,880 Situations require them to put a pause on the project, but they 159 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:56,560 allow that pause to now redirect their pursuit of placing the 160 00:10:56,560 --> 00:10:58,680 Kingdom of God first. And they got caught up with 161 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:02,400 their own advancements and ideas and desires. 162 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:07,960 So Haggai was said to say, hey, hey, hey, this is not the time 163 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,080 to do renovations with your house because that's what they 164 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:11,920 were doing. Nothing wrong with renovations 165 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:16,480 at home, by the way, but the House of God is still in rubble. 166 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:20,520 There needs to be a shift of priority here. 167 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:21,800 That's what Haggai's message was. 168 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:27,040 But I want you to see what happens after Haggai preaches to 169 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:29,640 this generation of Israelites with its leaders. 170 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:32,960 Haggai chapter 1, let's go to that together. 171 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:39,160 I want you to just see one verse to confirm the importance of 172 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:41,880 leaders and their spiritual health. 173 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:54,330 Haggai chapter 1 and verse 14. And the Lord stirred up the 174 00:11:54,330 --> 00:11:58,210 spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shell TL, governor of Judah, and 175 00:11:58,210 --> 00:12:01,210 the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehovah, Zadak the high priest, 176 00:12:01,490 --> 00:12:03,730 and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. 177 00:12:04,010 --> 00:12:06,730 And they came and worked on the House of the Lord of hosts, 178 00:12:06,730 --> 00:12:10,690 their God. Read your Bible slowly. 179 00:12:11,970 --> 00:12:16,970 Whose spirits were stirred first, the remnant or the 180 00:12:16,970 --> 00:12:19,320 leaders? The leaders. 181 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,160 It was the high priest, it was the governor who were moved in 182 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:27,480 their soul. And only then were the people 183 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:32,840 moved in their souls. So as the pastor is, so will his 184 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:37,760 church be. Pray for your pastors to stay 185 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,200 close to Christ. Pray that they would not become 186 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,120 stale. Pray that they would not become 187 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:48,200 jaded because sometimes sheep bite the hand that feeds them. 188 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:52,720 Pray that they would continue to operate in the power of the Holy 189 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:57,800 Spirit and not rely on some personality or charisma that can 190 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:03,280 work in some marketing field. Pray for your pastors. 191 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:08,640 And the letter to the Christians in Sardis serves as a warning 192 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:12,720 and encouragement to elders. The caution is that he who has 193 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,400 A7 SARS can do as he pleases with them. 194 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,720 Which means if the death of a church is encouraged by the 195 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:25,480 lethargy of an elder, then Christ may as a solution remove 196 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,360 that elder and replace him in order to preserve that church. 197 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:35,240 But the encouragement is that an elder who may feel that dryness, 198 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,200 he has to believe and trust that Christ can supply the grace to 199 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:45,880 rejuvenate him. So the same one who has this 200 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:50,400 seven stars also has what they need, the power of the Holy 201 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,040 Spirit to keep them and sustain them until the end. 202 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,320 And as an over full bless the people that they are facing 203 00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:01,920 every week. And so he tells this church, I 204 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:03,960 have the seven spirits, I have what you need. 205 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:07,960 We can't move on from verse one unless we answer this key 206 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:11,200 question. What makes a church dead? 207 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:16,200 We throw that around sometimes. Oh yeah, I went to it was a dead 208 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:22,240 meeting. Oh, then what does it mean for a 209 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:25,480 church to be dead? And we should want to know that 210 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,360 because this is what Christ says of this church. 211 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:31,800 And we can go to many places in the Bible to try to find 212 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,600 answers, but I wanted to just look at this letter. 213 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,560 Are there any clues in these 6 verses that can indicate to me 214 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:45,400 the autopsy of a dead church? And there is. 215 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:48,000 Here's what you and I are going to leave with today. 216 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:51,120 You and I are going to know 2 qualities that makes a church 217 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:53,560 dead and also makes a Christian dead. 218 00:14:55,680 --> 00:15:02,240 The first one is inactivity. Inactivity, the lack of 219 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:07,640 movement, the lack of motion, the lack of activity. 220 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:15,360 Look again here at verse 2 he says that he knows their works 221 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,000 in verse one that they have a reputation of being alive, but 222 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,480 you are dead. Verse 2, wake up and strengthen 223 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,200 what remains and is about to die for I have not found your works 224 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,520 complete in the sight of my God. The second part, I have not 225 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:30,520 found your works complete in the sight of my God. 226 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:36,720 They were deficient, they were weak, they were waning in their 227 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,200 works. There's not the Christ doesn't 228 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,240 admire anything about this assembly. 229 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:44,800 You know, there are different churches that we've studied 230 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,320 where yes, they tolerated false teaching or they were doing this 231 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:49,800 wrong, or maybe their heart was in the wrong place, but at least 232 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:53,840 there was movement. Well, look at the the last 233 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,400 church that we studied back in chapter 2, verse 19, the church 234 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:58,200 in Thyatira. Notice what Christ says. 235 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:01,280 Notice what he commends them for before he corrects them. 236 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:05,160 Revelation 219. I know your works, your love and 237 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,640 faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter 238 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:10,800 works exceed the first. Listen. 239 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:12,840 This church tolerated false teaching. 240 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:18,840 But they had they had things going on, growing acts of 241 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:22,280 service, a commendable attitude toward other Christians. 242 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:25,040 Sardis. Nothing. 243 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:30,200 It was a congregation filled with spiritual corpses, a 244 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:34,120 graveyard. You see, the question isn't 245 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:39,440 whether people are present. Even a cadaver can have clothes 246 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:43,120 on. It's whether they are present 247 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,920 and alive. Is there breath? 248 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,520 Is there warmth? Is there a flow of blood? 249 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:56,560 This church? No. 250 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,480 Can a dead man talk? No. 251 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,240 And in the same way, one of the qualities of a dead church is 252 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:09,760 that it does not pray, doesn't talk to God, doesn't cry out to 253 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:14,720 God, doesn't commune with God. Can a dead man move its hands? 254 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:18,920 Negative. And in like manner, a church 255 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:23,839 that does not actively extend its efforts to serve in 256 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,920 different capacities, to invest in people's lives in and outside 257 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:33,960 of that church is dead. Can a dead man walk? 258 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:40,960 No, dead man can't walk. And like a dead man who can't 259 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:45,640 walk, a dead church doesn't step outside of the four walls of the 260 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:46,880 building that they meet in every week. 261 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:48,080 They don't reach out to the laws. 262 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:50,200 They don't go to where people are trapped in darkness. 263 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:52,800 They have no concern about shining the light of the gospel. 264 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:59,240 It's just every man for himself. And that's an interesting 265 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:04,200 thought because you don't find any encouragement from Jesus for 266 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:09,840 this church to persevere in the midst of persecution, to hold 267 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:14,720 on, to stand fast. And this could be the reason why 268 00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:18,560 they weren't doing anything as a church to cause righteous 269 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:21,160 disturbance. They were just that little 270 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:23,960 church in the corner and nobody knows really what's going on 271 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:25,760 there. Sometimes there's cars in the 272 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,440 parking lot, but but there's but there's no life. 273 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:32,800 There's no observable things happening. 274 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,120 People aren't being touched. People aren't being reached. 275 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:39,080 There's no growth. There's no reproduction. 276 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:44,560 Inactivity is a sure sign of a dead church. 277 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:46,960 But I told you there are two things. 278 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,760 Insensitivity. What do I mean by that? 279 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,040 The church in Sardis was careless about sin. 280 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:00,920 How do I know that? Look again at verse 4. 281 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:06,000 Jesus says, yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who 282 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,880 have not soiled their garments, garments and the Scriptures in 283 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:14,200 many cases speaks of character. And he says there are some of 284 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:16,160 you there who have not soiled their garments and they will 285 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:17,560 walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 286 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:18,680 We won't impact that in a moment. 287 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,000 What does this imply? That a majority have soiled 288 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,160 their garments? That they are stained with 289 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:28,840 patterns of disobedience. So what I learned from this here 290 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,720 is that a church is a dead church when the group of people 291 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,080 in that church have no vision for holiness. 292 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,280 Personal worship is not addressed in preaching. 293 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,240 There's neither inspiration nor accountability among members for 294 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:51,000 Christ's likeness. And preparation for eternity is 295 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,760 entirely absent in both thought and conversation in that 296 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:59,320 community. And what a stark contrast to 297 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,960 church in Sardis is to the growing church in the book of 298 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:08,520 Acts. Do you want to know the growth 299 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:10,400 program of the church in the book of Acts? 300 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:12,040 I'll give you at least a couple of things. 301 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:17,280 In Acts 931, we're told of an episode in the church in its 302 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:21,240 early phases, that new explosive increase in multiplication. 303 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:26,320 And we're told how it grew. In Acts 931, So the church 304 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:29,480 throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, and was 305 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,600 being built up. And walking in the fear of the 306 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,640 Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. 307 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,560 And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the 308 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:43,960 Holy Spirit, what happened? It multiplied. 309 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,840 You have many people who advocate that the atmosphere of 310 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:53,000 a church should be 1. Of healing and consolation, 311 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:54,680 right. We often hear there's a church 312 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:57,240 should be a hospital. It's not a museum for Saints. 313 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,320 It's a hospital for the sick. Yeah, absolutely. 314 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:01,360 But a good hospital heals people. 315 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:03,800 They don't just manage sick people. 316 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,120 And so we learned here that the early church, listen, they knew 317 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:11,320 the comfort of the Holy Spirit. We want that. 318 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:14,320 And I'm not saying that's wrong. I'm not saying that we shouldn't 319 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:17,440 have a place here where there is encouragement in a building. 320 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:20,280 You should leave here. Every single meeting more built 321 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,880 up than when you came in. That's the fruit of true 322 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,240 ministry. And so, yes, we want the comfort 323 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:27,720 of the Holy Spirit. I want that. 324 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:30,880 But what comes before the comfort of the Holy Spirit? 325 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:35,000 The manifest working of the Holy Spirit, The people choosing to 326 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,000 walk in the fear of the Lord. You can't have one without the 327 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:42,000 other. Before the Holy Spirit moved in 328 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,560 that church and its presence was tangible and touching people. 329 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,880 The people made a conscious decision. 330 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,600 We are going to stand in awe of God. 331 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:54,320 Here's what I argue. You don't want to walk in the 332 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,080 fear of the Lord. Don't expect the Holy Spirit to 333 00:21:56,080 --> 00:22:02,280 comfort and to do what only He can do in the heart of of a 334 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:07,000 broken person walking in the fear of the Lord. 335 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,040 You know how you fear God when you hate sin? 336 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:11,360 That's one of the marks of fear and God. 337 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:15,840 According to Proverbs 813, the fear of the Lord is the hatred 338 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,040 of evil. So when you stand in awe of God, 339 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:21,920 it caused you to repulse and reject that which grieves his 340 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:23,240 heart. You've heard me say that many 341 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,040 times. I will not stay on this point 342 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:29,400 too long. All I want to say is that the 343 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:31,240 autopsy of a dead church is 2 things. 344 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:33,040 It's a company. People that are inactive and 345 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:37,600 meaningful deeds and don't care about being like Christ. 346 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:39,160 That's not an ambition, it's just. 347 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:44,880 We're here, we'll hear, we won't obey. 348 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,520 And just we checked off the box. That's a dead church. 349 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,080 That's a dead church. And here's a thought that we 350 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,640 can't afford to miss. No church starts out like 351 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:03,360 Sardis. Whenever a ministry begins, 352 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:05,240 there's always a level of excitement and commitment, 353 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:06,800 right? Always. 354 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:10,520 But that needs to be maintained and guarded. 355 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:15,800 And what you have here is that Jesus says precisely that you 356 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,080 have a reputation of being alive, but you're dead. 357 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,320 In other words, at one point you were active. 358 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:28,960 At one point you didn't care. You did come to the House of God 359 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,560 with with the goal of I want to be like Christ. 360 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:35,160 I want to know more of Christ. I want to be around people who 361 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:36,880 adore Christ. That was there. 362 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:44,560 It's no longer there. They fell asleep, and that's 363 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:46,840 what we find here in verse 2. Let's come back to our main tax. 364 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:52,680 Because Christ, now he uses death and sleep interchangeably 365 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:54,520 to speak of spiritual lifelessness. 366 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,560 The Bible does this throughout the New Testament, even the Old. 367 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:02,280 But praise God. Christ doesn't just condemn the 368 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,560 deadness of this church. He provides a remedy. 369 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:11,360 He provides a plan for revival. Listen, the only way a church 370 00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:15,680 can resurrect from its deadness is if each member of that church 371 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:19,000 chooses to obey what Jesus directs in the following verses. 372 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:24,480 For a church to know life again requires 3 things according to 373 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,440 Jesus and the first thing is found in verse 2, the 1st 2 374 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:35,960 words Wake up, wake up. What does it mean by waking up? 375 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:39,600 I mean, like, we know that wake up, wake up, wake up, OK. 376 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:44,760 What does waking up from devotional slumber practically 377 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,320 look like? That's what we should be asking, 378 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:51,080 and we have an answer. It's a shift of a mindset. 379 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:57,720 To wake up is a sobering realization that I am not in the 380 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:00,800 right state and I want to do something about it. 381 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,040 So wake up means that I'm acknowledging that I have become 382 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:07,960 dormant. I'm acknowledging that my 383 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:09,760 practical service is non existent. 384 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:14,400 I'm acknowledging that I don't think about pursuing greater 385 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,040 sanctification non existent in my thinking. 386 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,160 And then from that place of honesty, becoming willing to 387 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:24,840 make the necessary changes to be where Christ wants you to be. 388 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,640 That's what it means to wake up and listen. 389 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:32,000 If we're if we're transparent, even the first step is very 390 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:36,200 difficult for people to accept. Why? 391 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:39,560 For the same reason why it's hard to wake some people up from 392 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:44,040 natural sleep. They're comfortable, they're 393 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:48,640 warm. And here's what you have to 394 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,480 understand. Some people don't want to wake 395 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,240 up. Some people don't want to 396 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:57,640 acknowledge. I'm just, I'm just floating 397 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,920 here. I'm I'm just, there's nothing. 398 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,520 There's no heartbeat. There's no willingness to grow 399 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:10,080 these muscles. I'm just just here because 400 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,160 people don't want to reprioritize. 401 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,920 People don't want to add and subtract to their established 402 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:20,440 routine. People are very much comfortable 403 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:23,080 in the bed of unchallenged Christianity. 404 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:28,920 Well, it's your choice. Christ can't pull you out of bed 405 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,560 necessarily. It's only when you and I decide 406 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,440 I don't, I don't want to sleep in in my faith anymore. 407 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:39,680 You know, one of the problems of sleeping in is that you miss out 408 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,720 on life and you and I have to come to that same revelation. 409 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:48,120 I I no longer want to miss out on what Christ has for me in the 410 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:51,680 fullness of the Christian life. I'm going to get out of bed and 411 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:56,000 OK, what do I need to do now? Well, once you decide to wake 412 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:01,840 up, you come to step #2 that's what Jesus says in the rest of 413 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,560 the verse 2. And strengthen what remains and 414 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:08,480 is about to die. Strengthen what remains. 415 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,160 So there's still like it hasn't completely flatlined. 416 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:16,480 There are some signs of life. And so he says, I need you to 417 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,600 recognize the attitudes and the actions that are still there 418 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:23,720 that are fading and take intentional steps to revive 419 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:28,080 them. So here's what Jesus not me. 420 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,600 No, no, no, no, no. Here's what the Lord Jesus 421 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:35,520 Christ says to each of us. What is fading in your life? 422 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:40,000 What is losing its influence in your life? 423 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:46,240 What's becoming hollow? What are you losing a grip on? 424 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:48,960 What's slipping away? Is it your fellowship of the 425 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,680 Lord? Is it your involvement in the 426 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:56,280 church that you're a part of? Is it your mindfulness of being 427 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:59,680 a witness to the loss as you engage with the world in various 428 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:00,720 ways? What? 429 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:06,320 What is it that's dying that once was there, prevalent and 430 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:11,640 true, a joyful delight? And once you assess where you 431 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:14,480 are weak, consider how to inspire momentum in those areas 432 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,800 again. You know what? 433 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:21,320 One way you can catch fire? Get around people who are 434 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:25,400 already burning. Sometimes all it takes is a 435 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:30,600 phone call with somebody who loves the Bible for you to have 436 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:33,840 an appetite for the Bible. Is that just me? 437 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:39,520 It's amazing how much passion can be a contagious thing, but 438 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:41,640 Christ provides the primary catalyst. 439 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,480 And that's step number three. Once you wake up and once you 440 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:48,760 say, OK, OK, I want to actually be in the will of God here and 441 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:50,600 you strengthen. You seek to strengthen what 442 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,880 remains. Christ now provides one of the 443 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:57,040 first things to launch you in the right place, and it's in 444 00:28:57,040 --> 00:28:59,800 verse 3. Remember then what you have 445 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:03,280 received and heard. Keep it and repent. 446 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:06,920 Let's stop there. Remember, remember, remember 447 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:10,320 what? Remember at one point you heard 448 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:14,000 something and you no longer listened. 449 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:18,160 So this isn't a mystery. At some point, this congregation 450 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,080 with its leaders lost touch with the Word of God. 451 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,400 Is it possible for a church to lose touch with the Word of God? 452 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:30,240 It's a plague today. So you need to all remember what 453 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,520 you received at first. Remember the gospel that you 454 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:35,240 received at first, the teaching, the doctrine of the apostles 455 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:38,320 that instructed you, that once nourished you and sustained you. 456 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:42,120 You got to remember that and you got to go back to that. 457 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:44,240 And then not, not just remember, you got to keep it. 458 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,080 You got to be willing to say the Word of God is going to have 459 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:51,640 authority over my life. Once again, listen, it's very 460 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:55,720 difficult for a church to be dying when there is consistent 461 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,600 preaching and teaching of the Word of God in the power of the 462 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:04,080 Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 663, the 463 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:11,720 words that I've spoken to you are spirit and life in the same 464 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,000 Lord. Jesus is calling this church to 465 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,120 go back to engaging and treasuring the Word of God on a 466 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:20,400 personal and corporate level. I was sharing this verse with 467 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:24,120 more than one person after Bible study on Friday and maybe I 468 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,880 should share it with us here on this Sunday just a few pages 469 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:29,560 back. Look at first John, the same 470 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:31,080 John who wrote the Book of Revelation. 471 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:34,720 I want you to look at verse 14. Perhaps someone needs to also 472 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:39,080 know this and be reassured of the vitality comes from the 473 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:43,360 Bible. In First John 214 John takes 474 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,800 this segment and he speaks to different audiences of 475 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,800 Christians who are a different level of spiritual formation. 476 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:52,720 Some are children, some are young men, some are fathers in 477 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:54,760 the faith. But notice what he says to young 478 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:58,440 men in verse 14 of First John 2. I write to you fathers, because 479 00:30:58,440 --> 00:30:59,840 you know him who is from the beginning. 480 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,520 I write to you, young men, because you are strong. 481 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:05,760 Why are you strong, young men? In your spirit? 482 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:12,160 And the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the 483 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:15,440 evil. 1. Do you see the recipe? 484 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:19,040 Do you want to be strong in your spirit? 485 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:22,960 You need the Word of God, and only in the Word of God do you 486 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:25,240 know your strength, and only in that kind of strength can you 487 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:32,360 overcome the evil. 1 So you can't separate life in the 488 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:38,280 Spirit with the words in your Bible, digesting them, receiving 489 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:42,320 them, meditating on them. John says you're strong for one 490 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,840 main reason, because the Word of God abides in you. 491 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:48,040 I abide in a certain suburb personally. 492 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,040 What does that mean? I live there, I remain there. 493 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:53,800 That's my abode. And in the same way, only the 494 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:56,440 strength can be known when the Bible lives in you. 495 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,080 You can't dip your toe in the Bible on no strength. 496 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:04,320 You got to dive in. You can't nibble on a few 497 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:07,920 verses. You got a feast, you can't sip 498 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,120 it when you feel like it, you got to drink it. 499 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:14,280 It has to abide in you, and only then will you be able to be 500 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:18,080 strong and overcome the evil. 1 And I love the next part. 501 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,440 People separate the next part from the point that he makes 502 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:23,400 here. In what way can we overcome the 503 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,080 evil one? Look what he says in verse 15. 504 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:27,240 Do not love the world or the things in the world. 505 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:31,440 If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in 506 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:33,880 him, for all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh 507 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:36,800 and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from 508 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,800 the Father, but is from the world. 509 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:41,960 And the world is passing away along with its desires. 510 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:43,920 But whoever does the will of God abides forever. 511 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,960 So right after John says you're strong because the word of God 512 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:50,680 abides and you're able to overcome the evil, 1 he tells us 513 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:53,360 the things that we will overcome because you have the word of God 514 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:58,360 in you, the love of the world, the things in the world. 515 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:03,120 Because when you see the beauty in this book, because it reveals 516 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:05,960 the glory of God. And when you see these promises 517 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:08,680 and the spiritual treasures that are available and you see the 518 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:13,520 blueprint for true life, the things around you grow strangely 519 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:19,600 dim. I can tell you one thing, if I'm 520 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:22,080 attracted to the world and the things of this world, if the 521 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,800 desires of my flesh are strong and the desires of my eyes are 522 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,960 more potent and the pride of life is inflating in my heart, 523 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:32,440 I'm I'm weak somewhere in the word of God abiding in me. 524 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:35,760 Church and Sardis, remember what you once heard. 525 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:39,360 Get back to it. That's the only pathway to true 526 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:45,640 life again. Now we come back because Christ 527 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:53,560 is something astounding. He offers a warning for those 528 00:33:53,560 --> 00:34:00,080 who choose to sleep in and the second part of verse 3, if you 529 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,520 will not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not 530 00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:04,480 know at what hour I will come against you. 531 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:08,199 Jesus is not speaking to the world, He's speaking to the 532 00:34:08,199 --> 00:34:13,440 church. And it's a regular occurrence 533 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:16,679 that when Christ speaks about coming like a thief, he's not a 534 00:34:16,679 --> 00:34:18,320 thief. He comes like a thief. 535 00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:24,600 It speaks of his second coming, but in this occurrence has a 536 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:29,960 different application, speaks of impending judgement locally. 537 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:34,880 I will come to you personally as a church even while you're 538 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:38,719 asleep unannounced. It's going to be a surprise, and 539 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:40,960 I'm going to deal with the situation myself. 540 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:45,560 I'm going to deal with the seven stars and I'm going to deal with 541 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:47,480 those who have soiled their garments because they've been 542 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,600 spiritually asleep. I will do something about it if 543 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:53,040 you will not. And I'm sure the curious mind 544 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:55,320 might be thinking what? What does it mean that he'll 545 00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:58,760 come like a thief to a church ready for this? 546 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:02,880 I don't know. But here's what I do know. 547 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:05,600 I don't want Maranatha Bible Church to become a church that 548 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,800 finds out. That's my application from this. 549 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:16,880 I don't want to find out. I want to stay awake. 550 00:35:18,240 --> 00:35:21,200 And when you combine this ultimatum with Christ's words to 551 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:23,440 the church in Ephesus, remember that church that lost their 552 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:25,120 first love, forsaken their first love? 553 00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:28,000 I learned at least one thing. It's clear the Lord will not 554 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:32,200 tolerate a church that is loveless and lifeless. 555 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:42,000 He doesn't. To our shock, there are some in 556 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,280 this church who have been awake all along. 557 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:50,680 It's possible for a dead church to have a remnant of living 558 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:53,760 people. You know what's scarier, though? 559 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,960 That in a living church you have a pocket of people who are dead. 560 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:00,880 That's another message for another time. 561 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:03,840 But look at verse four with me now in Revelation 3-4. 562 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:08,160 You have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not 563 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,680 soiled their garments. And they will walk with me in 564 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:17,040 white, for they are worthy. Wow, I try to put myself in the 565 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:21,800 sandals of these Christians, this remnant in this church in 566 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:26,880 Sardis and what it must have felt like, what kind of thrill 567 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:31,200 shot through their soul when this letter that by way of 568 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:34,880 history we know the practice was the letter would be read aloud 569 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:40,640 to the entire congregation. Imagine this, you are dead, and 570 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,040 then it comes to this point, yet you still have a few names in 571 00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:45,120 Sardis who have not soiled their garments. 572 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:48,840 What was it like to know as a person in that church who's been 573 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:53,000 praying for revival in that church, as walking faithfully 574 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:55,680 and not allowing the dampening influence of that dry 575 00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:57,240 environment to have an effect on them? 576 00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:01,280 What was it like to hear Jesus Christ saying, What did he say? 577 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:07,480 You have a few names. He knows my name. 578 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:14,440 He knows my name. It's different when somebody 579 00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:15,880 calls you by your name, is it not? 580 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:20,680 It's a different force to it, different impact. 581 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:28,360 Jesus Christ knows your name. And in the same letter, one day 582 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:35,600 he's going to confess that name. Father Daniel Batarse belongs to 583 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:39,320 me. Wow, what a thrill that's going 584 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:43,160 to be. But it doesn't just say that he 585 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:45,720 knows our names for then. He says I know your name Now 586 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:52,160 he's aware of me. He sees the fact that I want to 587 00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:55,200 live for him and I want to love him and I and I am striving to 588 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:57,560 serve him. Was it a group of friends in 589 00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:00,680 that church that had no way to go to a different congregation, 590 00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:03,040 so they just try to do what they can with the church that they 591 00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:05,320 are a part of. Was it a couple of families? 592 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:10,160 We're not told they are promised a particular reward. 593 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:13,360 They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 594 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:16,760 It's one thing for him to say that they will be dressed in 595 00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:19,640 white. He says no, no, one day they 596 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:21,760 will walk with me. That speaks of intimacy. 597 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:24,480 Have you noticed the pattern of how many of these rewards in 598 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,880 the, the, the letters to these churches have to do with 599 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:30,600 intimacy with God? They will walk with me. 600 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,400 You might have felt alone, you remnant in that church in 601 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:36,920 Sardis. Nobody gets your zeal, nobody 602 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:40,120 understands your fervor. And here you are trying to just 603 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:42,440 do the best you can to love Christ. 604 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:45,160 Here's what Jesus says. There's a day coming where I'm 605 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,960 going to draw you close to myself and I'm going to honor 606 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:51,640 you for how you honored me even in a place where people did not 607 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:56,400 honor me. But it's not the only thing that 608 00:38:56,440 --> 00:39:01,280 Jesus says. He says in verse 5, the one who 609 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:05,960 conquers will be clothed us in white garments, and I will never 610 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:08,080 blot his name out of the book of life. 611 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:12,400 I have a feeling that some people were waiting for all 612 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:16,640 those other verses to be explained for this verse to be 613 00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:23,800 expounded on. I understand this verse has 614 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:28,760 caused a lot of trouble for people, a lot of turmoil, even 615 00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:33,000 torment. But I want to answer it slowly. 616 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,720 Jesus says I will never blot out his name out of the book of 617 00:39:36,720 --> 00:39:37,960 life. What's the book of life? 618 00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:41,520 It's not difficult to understand. 619 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:44,400 What the Bible reveals about the book of life is that it is this 620 00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:46,800 register of the names of the redeemed. 621 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:54,560 It is this archive of names. Who will have eternal life and 622 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:56,520 who will be exempt? Who will be spared from the lake 623 00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:58,880 of fire that is the book of life. 624 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:01,840 And there's debate about how the Book of Life works. 625 00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:04,920 There are some people who believe that to have your name 626 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:08,160 inserted in that book of life happens the moment that you 627 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:13,240 confess Jesus Christ as Lord and there are others who would say 628 00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:16,280 no. The names of every single living 629 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:22,560 person are found in the book of life and are embedded in that 630 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:26,320 book once they place their faith in Jesus Christ. 631 00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:30,400 And those who those who have not put their faith in Jesus Christ 632 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:33,800 will have their names remove. And the reason why they make 633 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,640 this argument is because the general observation in Scripture 634 00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:39,880 is that the names in the book of life are typically blotted out, 635 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:45,080 not written in. We can leave that debate for 636 00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:48,600 another day because that's not the main concern people have 637 00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:50,160 when they come across this verse. 638 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:53,400 What people really want to know with what Jesus says here is, is 639 00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:56,600 it possible for those who are truly saved to have their names 640 00:40:56,840 --> 00:41:00,240 blotted out of the book of life as a result of unfaithfulness? 641 00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:04,200 Let me say it plainly. Can you lose your salvation 642 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:08,640 based on this verse? Because that's what it seems to 643 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:11,480 infer. The one who conquers will be 644 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:14,760 clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot out His 645 00:41:14,760 --> 00:41:19,480 name out of the book of Life. You can make a whole sermon out 646 00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:22,240 of this verse, can you not? Absolutely. 647 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:24,840 We don't have to go that far today. 648 00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:30,200 Did you know that Jesus meant to give this as a source of 649 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:35,160 comfort? And it's so sad to know that 650 00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:40,640 many are confused by it or been led to be confused by it when it 651 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:42,640 was intended to reassure the Christian. 652 00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:48,920 And as always, when interpreting a verse, you have to honor the 653 00:41:48,920 --> 00:41:51,480 context. You can make any passage, say 654 00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:54,720 almost anything by removing it from what it is connected to. 655 00:41:56,040 --> 00:41:59,160 So you have to understand what is happening to and around this 656 00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:02,680 church, what's going on with this letter that brings light to 657 00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:06,320 this one text? And here's the first step in 658 00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:08,880 understanding what Jesus saying. We have to determine something. 659 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:14,200 Is Christ still warning the church in Sardis, or is he now 660 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:19,960 moved on to promising reward? Answer promising reward. 661 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:23,240 He's no longer threatening this church. 662 00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:26,960 He already did that earlier. So right away we have to 663 00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:29,760 determine this. This is a positive note, not a 664 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:34,760 -1. This is meant to provide peace, 665 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:41,800 not to shake people. And here's how we understand 666 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:45,080 this. The next question now is, so 667 00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:48,080 then, if this is a good thing, if this is a report of good 668 00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:54,320 news, what does understanding my name in the book of life have to 669 00:42:54,320 --> 00:43:00,040 do with the church here? In other words, what does Christ 670 00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:03,800 promise your have to do with the church's situation? 671 00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:08,880 And I believe this is the answer, and it may not resonate 672 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:10,840 with us as much as Christians in the West. 673 00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:12,560 What was the problem of this church? 674 00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:16,200 They were dead generally. They were lifeless. 675 00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:21,520 And one possible reason why Christians back then and even 676 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:25,920 today in some parts of the world don't live out fully their faith 677 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:31,360 is because they're afraid. There's a price for living out 678 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:35,080 your faith with passion and vision and the power of the Holy 679 00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:38,400 Spirit. There's a cost. 680 00:43:40,040 --> 00:43:43,520 And again, remember, Jesus doesn't applaud them for 681 00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:46,640 standing firm. Jesus doesn't point out any kind 682 00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:48,720 of external issue. Why? 683 00:43:48,720 --> 00:43:52,120 Because they're dead, they're not doing anything. 684 00:43:53,760 --> 00:43:56,640 And it could be that one reason is that they became comfortable 685 00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:58,880 in that state. They're not bothering anybody. 686 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:04,160 Nobody's bothering them. And what's interesting about 687 00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:05,720 this letter is that there's a word play. 688 00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:10,280 What did Jesus say in Revelation 35I will never blot out his name 689 00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:14,720 out of the book of life. And the word name comes up more 690 00:44:14,720 --> 00:44:17,640 than once in this one letter. In fact, if you have the King 691 00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:20,440 James Version, when I read to you verse 1, you would have 692 00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:23,240 noticed a difference. It says there in the second part 693 00:44:23,240 --> 00:44:27,040 of verse one, I know your works. You have the reputation of being 694 00:44:27,040 --> 00:44:29,520 alive. That word reputation is the same 695 00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:35,880 Greek word for name Onoma. The King James writes out name 696 00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:40,240 instead of reputation in that verse and some would interpret 697 00:44:40,240 --> 00:44:42,720 when Jesus says I know your works, you have a reputation of 698 00:44:42,720 --> 00:44:44,920 being live. We're applying it as they had 699 00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:47,720 this past and the present no longer correlates. 700 00:44:47,720 --> 00:44:49,320 It's a different present. They're dead. 701 00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:50,600 They were alive. They're no longer alive. 702 00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:55,280 A secondary application is that they were at rest with their 703 00:44:55,280 --> 00:44:58,040 reputation of seemingly being alive when in fact they were 704 00:44:58,040 --> 00:45:01,840 according to Christ dead. So those around you, you're a 705 00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:05,120 nice group of Christians. Oh, you do a little maybe 706 00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:07,840 community service here and there, but not with the 707 00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:10,240 redemptive goal of shining the light of the gospel. 708 00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:11,120 Oh, you might. OK. 709 00:45:11,240 --> 00:45:12,480 You're just a group of Christians. 710 00:45:12,480 --> 00:45:14,960 You do your thing. You have this wonderful 711 00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:19,200 reputation. I think a lot more people would 712 00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:22,040 like Christians if they didn't speak the gospel, didn't expose 713 00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:26,480 darkness. And so he says here, I know your 714 00:45:26,480 --> 00:45:28,080 words. You have a name of being alive 715 00:45:29,480 --> 00:45:31,240 and you're comfortable with your reputation. 716 00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:37,880 And so these Christians were at rest with their state, and Jesus 717 00:45:37,880 --> 00:45:39,160 says no. I want to let you know though, 718 00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:42,800 if you overcome, if you live the faith that Christ has called you 719 00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:47,280 to live, I'm promising you this. Though you may be cancelled by 720 00:45:47,280 --> 00:45:50,000 society, though you may be fired, though you may be 721 00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:53,280 ostracized, though you may be marginalized, Here's my promise 722 00:45:53,280 --> 00:45:56,440 to those who live the way that the gospel cause you to live. 723 00:45:56,800 --> 00:46:01,520 I will never blot out your name. I will never delete your name. 724 00:46:02,440 --> 00:46:05,480 I will never remove you. You have the assurance of my 725 00:46:05,680 --> 00:46:07,880 acceptance. If anything, this is a verse 726 00:46:07,880 --> 00:46:13,960 talking about security to a bunch of Christians who were 727 00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:17,600 were not living the overcoming Christian life, perhaps because 728 00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:20,160 they were fearful of the ramifications and what Christ 729 00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:21,800 says to them. Listen to the one who overcomes. 730 00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:24,520 Understand this. I will never know, not ever. 731 00:46:24,520 --> 00:46:26,720 Blot your name out of the Book of Life. 732 00:46:29,280 --> 00:46:31,360 Your name is in the Book of life. 733 00:46:31,360 --> 00:46:37,600 Live like it. And if there's any temptation to 734 00:46:37,600 --> 00:46:42,600 believe that a Christian can so underperform in their 735 00:46:42,600 --> 00:46:48,400 Christianity or sin in such a way that they are able to erase 736 00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:53,320 their identity in that registry, you're going to have trouble 737 00:46:53,320 --> 00:46:56,240 reconciling that conclusion with other verses about the Book of 738 00:46:56,240 --> 00:46:58,680 Life. Can I give you one example? 739 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:02,480 It's only mentioned so few times in the New Testament. 740 00:47:02,680 --> 00:47:05,920 One of them is actually found in Paul's epistle to the 741 00:47:05,920 --> 00:47:08,920 Philippians. Go to Philippians chapter 4 742 00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:10,560 quickly. I want you to see what happens 743 00:47:11,240 --> 00:47:14,840 when Paul is speaking about a problem between two Christians 744 00:47:14,840 --> 00:47:23,250 in this church in Philippians 4, two to three. 745 00:47:26,250 --> 00:47:32,080 I entreat Aeodia and I entreat Sinteki to agree in the Lord. 746 00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:35,440 Pause. So Paul names two women in the 747 00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:40,120 church who have a dispute. There's animosity there, and I 748 00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:42,960 don't think it's a small one because Paul wouldn't include it 749 00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:45,160 in the letter and had that read letter read publicly to the 750 00:47:45,160 --> 00:47:47,640 church. Evidently, whatever was going on 751 00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:51,560 between these two women, it was bringing discord to the entire 752 00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:53,240 assembly. It was causing friction to the 753 00:47:53,240 --> 00:47:55,680 whole congregation. So Paul highlights it. 754 00:47:55,680 --> 00:47:57,600 He calls it out. He goes, you too. 755 00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:00,920 I'm calling you to agree in the Lord and notice how he describes 756 00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:02,800 him. Yes, I ask you also, true 757 00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:07,840 companion, help these women who have labored side by side with 758 00:48:07,840 --> 00:48:11,080 me in the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my 759 00:48:11,080 --> 00:48:15,520 fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. 760 00:48:18,360 --> 00:48:23,240 So you have these two women who were causing problems in the 761 00:48:23,240 --> 00:48:27,480 church. They were irritating the peace 762 00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:31,400 and the unity of that place. And this is evidently A 763 00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:33,520 struggle. This is evidently wrong. 764 00:48:33,960 --> 00:48:39,320 And yet in the same context, Paul includes these women with 765 00:48:39,320 --> 00:48:42,800 others in that church whose names are in the Book of life. 766 00:48:46,040 --> 00:48:50,040 So struggling in my faith doesn't get me rejected. 767 00:48:51,800 --> 00:48:53,440 Salvation is not a revolving door. 768 00:48:53,440 --> 00:48:55,600 One week you're in. Oh you're causing problems you 769 00:48:55,640 --> 00:49:00,520 idea and the church. Maybe you're out when Christ 770 00:49:00,520 --> 00:49:02,440 writes our names in the book of life. 771 00:49:02,440 --> 00:49:05,920 He doesn't do so with pencil. He doesn't even do it with ink. 772 00:49:05,920 --> 00:49:14,280 He does it with his blood. These two believers conflict 773 00:49:14,280 --> 00:49:18,600 contention outside of character of Christ likeness in the season 774 00:49:18,600 --> 00:49:22,800 of their lives, and yet Paul still says you're in the book of 775 00:49:22,800 --> 00:49:26,280 life. In fact, when you go to 776 00:49:26,280 --> 00:49:28,320 Revelation, this is where we're going to land. 777 00:49:29,560 --> 00:49:32,480 You get a couple of hints in different parts of that same 778 00:49:32,480 --> 00:49:37,520 book where you actually see that perseverance is a result of 779 00:49:37,520 --> 00:49:39,800 being in the book of life. Can I show that to you? 780 00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:43,680 Let's go to Revelation 13. Revelation 13 is about the 781 00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:46,440 Antichrist. I'm sure we're excited for that 782 00:49:46,440 --> 00:49:53,000 chapter. Look at verse 7 of Revelation 783 00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:59,880 13. Also, it was allowed to make war 784 00:49:59,880 --> 00:50:02,920 on the Saints of the conquer them, and authority was given it 785 00:50:02,920 --> 00:50:05,920 over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who 786 00:50:05,920 --> 00:50:07,560 dwell on the earth will worship it. 787 00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:13,440 Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of 788 00:50:13,440 --> 00:50:16,760 the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. 789 00:50:18,760 --> 00:50:20,880 Who's going to worship the Antichrist? 790 00:50:21,200 --> 00:50:23,880 Those who are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life. 791 00:50:26,240 --> 00:50:29,440 So if my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, guess what? 792 00:50:30,320 --> 00:50:34,280 I'm going to be kept. I won't worship something apart 793 00:50:34,280 --> 00:50:37,640 from God. Look at chapter 17, verse 8. 794 00:50:42,600 --> 00:50:46,520 The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to rise 795 00:50:46,520 --> 00:50:50,000 from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. 796 00:50:50,120 --> 00:50:54,680 And the dwellers on earth, whose names have not been written in 797 00:50:54,680 --> 00:50:57,480 the book of life, from the foundation of the world, will 798 00:50:57,480 --> 00:51:03,640 marvel to see the beast because it was and is not and is to 799 00:51:03,640 --> 00:51:06,880 come. Who's going to be captivated? 800 00:51:07,440 --> 00:51:10,240 Who's going to be mesmerized? Who's going to marvel at the 801 00:51:10,240 --> 00:51:14,240 beast? Those who are not found in the 802 00:51:14,240 --> 00:51:23,000 Lamb's book of Life, those who are in the Lamb's book of life, 803 00:51:23,160 --> 00:51:32,920 then will persevere. They will be faithful in the 804 00:51:32,920 --> 00:51:35,640 sense that they are called to be faithful in the gospel. 805 00:51:36,920 --> 00:51:39,040 So when we come back to Revelation 3, five, let me just 806 00:51:39,040 --> 00:51:40,880 recap here. When he says the one who 807 00:51:40,880 --> 00:51:42,760 conquers will be clothed us in white garments and I will never 808 00:51:42,760 --> 00:51:44,280 blot out his name out of the book of life. 809 00:51:46,320 --> 00:51:52,080 He's giving a promise to those who might feel the fear of not 810 00:51:52,080 --> 00:51:54,400 living the way Christ called him to live. 811 00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:59,520 Because if I really come alive in Christ, my reputation is at 812 00:51:59,520 --> 00:52:02,560 stake. My name might be at stake. 813 00:52:02,880 --> 00:52:06,240 I might cause problems in my family and problems in my local 814 00:52:06,640 --> 00:52:10,600 synagogue, local workplace. There might be issues that flow 815 00:52:10,600 --> 00:52:12,440 out of that. And Christ says, listen, listen, 816 00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:14,680 listen. You were called to be an 817 00:52:14,680 --> 00:52:18,040 overcomer, and I want to let you know that no matter what happens 818 00:52:18,040 --> 00:52:21,520 to your reputation because of it, I will never blot your name 819 00:52:21,520 --> 00:52:23,120 out of the Book of Life. Does it make sense? 820 00:52:23,920 --> 00:52:26,200 Oh, I hope so. If not, it's going to be a long 821 00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:30,640 line at that door today. It's a promise, not a warning. 822 00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:33,800 There's no threat here. It's to reassure these believers 823 00:52:33,800 --> 00:52:37,400 to go and live out their faith because they are preserved and 824 00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:40,080 secure no matter what happens to you in this life with your name. 825 00:52:40,680 --> 00:52:43,480 Your name is in the most important book of all, the Book 826 00:52:43,480 --> 00:52:47,400 of Life. More than that, I will confess 827 00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:51,120 His name before my Father and before his angels. 828 00:52:51,680 --> 00:52:54,080 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the 829 00:52:54,080 --> 00:52:56,320 churches. Do you hear Christ today? 830 00:52:59,400 --> 00:53:02,640 Are you sleeping? Look at all the heads that went 831 00:53:02,640 --> 00:53:04,080 up. Good. 832 00:53:04,080 --> 00:53:06,080 I'm not talking about physically sleeping. 833 00:53:06,080 --> 00:53:08,840 Sometimes that happens in church. 834 00:53:10,520 --> 00:53:14,840 I'm talking about your activity and your faith and your 835 00:53:14,840 --> 00:53:16,840 sensitivity to your sanctification. 836 00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:26,120 He has the seven spirits of God. The Holy Spirit can work in you 837 00:53:26,120 --> 00:53:27,800 if you're willing to wake up and acknowledge. 838 00:53:29,160 --> 00:53:31,840 I have no concern really about how my gifts work out in the 839 00:53:31,840 --> 00:53:37,080 church. And really, I don't remember the 840 00:53:37,080 --> 00:53:39,920 last time that I asked the Lord Jesus to make me more like Him. 841 00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:45,200 I let my eyes look at whatever I let my ears hear, whatever I let 842 00:53:45,200 --> 00:53:49,160 my mouth say, whatever my ambitions are. 843 00:53:49,640 --> 00:53:53,080 Me, me, me more, this more, this more, this more. 844 00:53:53,080 --> 00:53:55,640 That has nothing to do with the gospel, nothing to do with the 845 00:53:55,640 --> 00:53:57,480 Kingdom. Is that you today? 846 00:53:58,600 --> 00:54:01,640 Here's Jesus saying to you, I can help you. 847 00:54:03,680 --> 00:54:06,880 Just get out of bed and let me empower you to walk now. 848 00:54:06,880 --> 00:54:10,480 And no matter what may be the consequences of you living the 849 00:54:10,480 --> 00:54:13,720 way you're called to live, no matter what happens to you in 850 00:54:13,720 --> 00:54:16,280 this life, you will be clothed in white garments. 851 00:54:16,480 --> 00:54:22,800 Your name will resound in the corridors of heaven, and Jesus 852 00:54:22,800 --> 00:54:26,520 Christ himself will say, I know him and he belongs to me. 853 00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:29,840 Come what may in this life, that's my future and yours. 854 00:54:30,320 --> 00:54:32,440 Live it out for Jesus. Let's pray. 855 00:54:40,320 --> 00:54:45,120 Father, we thank you that you have spoken to us so clearly, 856 00:54:46,320 --> 00:54:49,640 and we do humbly ask that Maranatha Bible Church would be 857 00:54:49,640 --> 00:54:57,200 a living church. Protect us from falling asleep. 858 00:54:57,800 --> 00:55:00,560 Help us be alert. Help us have sensitive 859 00:55:00,560 --> 00:55:05,400 consciences, not to the point of scrutinizing ourselves to death, 860 00:55:06,440 --> 00:55:10,160 but Lord, to just be in step with your will day in and day 861 00:55:10,160 --> 00:55:11,760 out. We ask so that you protect the 862 00:55:11,760 --> 00:55:15,080 leadership of this church to abide in the vine. 863 00:55:15,080 --> 00:55:18,560 We pray for every member of this church to do their part. 864 00:55:18,560 --> 00:55:20,760 We ask, Lord, that this would not be a place where there's a 865 00:55:20,760 --> 00:55:24,440 small few who live for you. By the Lord, we would all live 866 00:55:24,440 --> 00:55:28,240 for you and that we would be contributors to each other's 867 00:55:28,640 --> 00:55:31,960 passion for the things of God. Lord, we love you and we even 868 00:55:31,960 --> 00:55:35,480 now ask for the Holy Spirit to breathe fresh life into each of 869 00:55:35,480 --> 00:55:37,360 us. And we may walk out of here. 870 00:55:37,360 --> 00:55:41,240 Encourage knowing that there is no life like living for Christ 871 00:55:41,240 --> 00:55:44,120 wholeheartedly and no matter what kind of consequences in 872 00:55:44,120 --> 00:55:45,560 this world may come because of it. 873 00:55:45,840 --> 00:55:48,640 We have our names written in the Lamb's book of life. 874 00:55:49,560 --> 00:55:51,000 That is the greatest reward of all. 875 00:55:51,440 --> 00:55:54,120 So we thank you for it as we sing to you now for your help. 876 00:55:54,480 --> 00:55:57,240 In Jesus name we pray, Amen and Amen. 877 00:55:58,440 --> 00:56:01,400 Let's stand and let's pray what we're about to sing. 878 00:56:02,160 --> 00:56:03,120 The Lord will help us.