Sermon Notes - Revelation 3:1-6 - Letter to Sardis - Littleby Baptist Church - June 13, 2021

Refresher

a.      Love God over anything else.

b.     Remember that our Hope is in Jesus.

c.      Stay true to the Word of God.

d.     The Letter to Thyatira:

                                                    i.     Let Love guide us as we go about the Lord’s business.

                                                  ii.     Keep the Lord’s Word and His Works.

                                                iii.     Do not tolerate false teachers.

                                                iv.     Follow Jesus and be His witnesses, His conduit of Love.

2.     Sardis

a.      30 miles southeast of Thyatira and 60 miles east of Smyrna.

b.     Bottom right corner of our parallelogram.

c.      Sat on an important trade route going East and West through the kingdom of Lydia which made this a wealthy city.

d.     It was considered a center of pagan worship, with a prominent temple to Artemis.

e.      Today a small village named Sart, so small I could not find a population estimate.

f.      Archeologist have located the ruins of a Christian church building next to the temple.

g.     Roughly 700 BC at the kingdoms peak, there was a king the Jews called Gog.

                                                    i.     Thought to be symbolic of the evil that comes at the end of the age.

3.     Revelation 3:1 – The Author is clearly known.

a.      The One who has the seven spirits of God.

b.     the seven stars, who has the messenger sin His hands.

c.      The one who has the fulness of the Holy Spirt. The One who is God.

4.     Little if any praise.

a.      I know your works you have a reputation of being alive.

                                                    i.     While this may seem like praise, it is not.

                                                  ii.     The church of Sardis has a reputation in their community as being a good church.

                                                iii.     They were ‘seen’ by humans as a church that was doing good – Jesus did not agree.  

5.     Rebuke begins - ‘but you are dead.’

                                                    i.     The One who is God, who pierces through our facades, the One who knows all… has declared the church as dead.

                                                  ii.     Jesus has called others dead - Matthew 23:27-28

1.     Jesus sees all, we cannot hide anything from Him.

2.     Outer appearances mean nothing as individuals, as a church, association, or convention.

3.     We cannot be Christ followers on the outside and not the inside.

4.     We need to be real with each other and the people in our lives.

5.     We are broken people, and need to not worry about the façade.  

6.     Do not try to be perfect in man’s eyes.

6.     Revelation 3:2

a.      WAKE UP! 1 Peter 5:8

b.     Repent from your fakeness.

c.      Turn to God and grow your faith.

d.     If you do not death is lurking around the corner.

e.      The works they have done, if any, do not measure up to God.

                                                    i.     Their hearts were not in them.

f.      Some in Sardis were focused on God, but most were not.

g.     Jesus was warning them to wake up and return to Him.

h.     Hopefully, it is a reminder for us to check our hearts.

                                                    i.     Coming to LBC cannot be just a habit or something we do.

                                                  ii.     We are not to just go through the motions.

                                                iii.     We need to be ALL IN for Jesus.

1.     Loving God with everything we have.

2.     Loving Others as we would love ourselves.

                                                iv.     What we do here is not about ‘doing church’ it is about growing closer to God and being His messengers to a dying world.

7.     Revelation 3:3 – Encouragement.

a.      Jesus is saying, that He does not want them to perish.

b.     Remember what you have heard, remember the filling of the Holy Spirit, Hold on to those things and Repent.

                                                    i.     Great reminder… Do you have a moment in your life where you felt close to God?

                                                  ii.     When you don’t know what is going on, wondering where God is, hold on to those times you have felt close to God.

                                                iii.     Remember when He carried your through the toughest of times.

                                                iv.     Remember when someone shared a Word that spoke to you as deeply as it can get.

                                                  v.     Read those verses that encourage, strengthen, and brings you peace.

                                                vi.     Hold tightly to those moments, they will help you when you are feeling distant.

c.      We don’t know when our time on earth will come to an end.

                                                    i.     We need to be ‘alert’ and focus on Jesus.

                                                  ii.     If we are not alert, we will have no idea, meaning we will not be ready for what happens next.

                                                iii.     Those who are not alert will not be ready to confess that Jesus is Lord.

                                                iv.     Those who are not alert will not be ready to stand before Jesus in judgement.

                                                  v.     Those who are not alert will not be ready for the eternity they will endure.

d.     Each of us need to stay focused on Jesus.

                                                    i.     Our lives need to be purposefully focused on Jesus.

                                                  ii.     Our Actions need to be driven out of Love for God and Others.

                                                iii.     Our Faith needs to be in the one who is the Author and Perfector of our Faith.

8.     Revelation 3:4

a.      Jesus points out that a few have stayed true.

b.     They have not embraced the sin of the world.

c.      They have continued to live as they have been called.

d.     They will be clothed in white as they have been found righteous in the Lord’s sight.

e.      If we remain true to Jesus and Follow Him, we will receive the same.

f.      If not, we will be caught off guard and suffer the consequences.

9.     Revelation 3:5

a.      To those who conquer…

b.     To those who are faithful…

c.      To those who have repented and turned to Jesus…

                                                    i.     Dressed in white clothes.

                                                  ii.     Name will be listed in the Lambs Book of Life.

                                                iii.     Acknowledged in heaven, before God the Father and those in His presence.

d.     Imagine standing in the presence of God and your Lord and Savior…

                                                    i.     Being given brilliantly white clothes, royal garments, fit for the child of the King.

                                                  ii.     Reads your name from the Book of Life.

                                                iii.     Then He proclaims to all who will hear that you were a faithful servant…

                                                iv.     WOW!!!

e.      The faithful in Sardis were told this will happen for them if they repent and follow Jesus.

f.      The same is true for us, IF we truly follow Jesus.

                                                    i.     The trick is, it cannot be out of a sense of duty, habit, or because someone else does it.

                                                  ii.     Our Faith needs to be our own.

                                                iii.     If it is, we will be clothed like royalty, our name will be in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and Jesus will acknowledge us before the Father!

10.  Revelation 3:6

a.      A familiar ending and a reminder to take the words of Jesus to heart.

b.     We need to listen to what He told Sardis and let it change our lives.

11.  A Lot in 6 verses that reminds us:

a.      Reminds us:

                                                    i.     We are commanded to Love God first and foremost.

                                                  ii.     Impact every aspect of our lives.

                                                iii.     Drive us to serve Him and Others.

                                                iv.     Our God wants us to be real, not perfect.

                                                  v.     Follow Jesus with all that we are.

                                                vi.     Our Name will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

1.     We will be welcomed in Glory, dressed as a child of the King, and acknowledged before the Father.

2.     Nothing better in all of eternity.

 

May the Lord's blessing be upon you!

Robert