Compromise.
Sometimes compromise is a good thing.
Like in marriage, you and your spouse are in a little bit of a disagreement of how much to spend on your kids' clothes.
So you're going to have to come to a compromise.
Neither of you will probably get what you want, but that's how compromises work.
But compromises like this don't happen just in marriage, but in business, you've got to compromise to make a deal to make everybody happy.
In politics, in order to pass legislation, you usually have to do some compromising in order to get some legislation through.
We need a little bit more of that.
But there's another more serious kind of compromise.
It's a compromise of heart.
A misplaced loyalty.
A loyalty instead of giving to the one who is worthy of your ultimate complete devotion, you give it to something else.
That's a more serious kind of compromise.
This heart loyalty compromise is what makes marital affairs so devastating.
It's what makes a patriot turned traitor worthy of death.
And it's what makes a church that is just kind of blended into its surrounding culture so grievous in God's sight.
We're not to blend in.
We're to stand out.
We're not to be silent.
But we're to speak up.
This morning, the risen, radiant, and reigning Christ, he speaks to a compromised church.
The church of Sardis.
And so if this is, you're here for the first time, we've been making our way to the book of Revelation.
And we're in chapters, been in chapters two and three.
And we're just making, kind of going from one letter to the next.
Seven letters to seven churches.
And we're in the fifth letter, the church to Sardis.
And each of these letters share a very similar structure.
So this morning, I'm just going to walk us through the structure of the letter.
And by the end, we need to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
So let's start with this church, this compromised church.
Just a tad of background on the city of Sardis.
It was about 30 miles south of Theatira, which we saw last week.
It was a commercial hub.
But it was also a military strategic point in this area.
It had what's called a necropolis, literally a summit city, a fortress on sheer cliffs of 1,500 feet high.
It had a commanding view of the surrounding area.
It was militarily highly strategic.
And the Sardinians thought that they were impregnable.
495, 496, Cyrus II sends Persian army there.
And because the Sardinians thought that these walls would take care of them,
they were not watchful.
And the Persians were able to sneak up a back path into this elevated fortress,
and they sacked that city.
The Sardinians thought that they were something that they were not.
And it's with some degree of irony that Jesus speaks to this church in Sardis,
and he says,
Hey, you're not alive.
You're dead.
They thought that they were something.
But they were not.
If you look at chapter 3 in verse 2,
we read,
Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die.
This is Jesus speaking to this church.
For I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
They got a big I on the top of their paper.
Incomplete.
In other words,
something major is missing in this church.
And it's more than one thing.
It's works.
There's a few things that are missing.
Something is missing in Sardis.
And you know what it is.
We're given some clues from this text of what they are.
One is,
they've got to compromise walk.
And what I mean by walk is,
a way of living your life.
If you look down,
in verse 4,
we read,
Yet you have still a few names in Sardis.
People who have not soiled their garments.
That soiled their garments kind of language,
that's referring to
impurity, defilement.
A way of being
that doesn't stand out
from the surrounding culture,
but blends in.
So what Jesus is addressing here
is the majority of this church,
not the few,
but the majority,
they were walking around
with soiled garments.
Chronic sin.
A lifestyle of sin.
Not occasional stuff.
Lifestyle.
So much is that they blend
in to the non-Christians
in Sardis of the time.
This was a church
that was compromising its walk.
They didn't look any different
than anybody around them.
They blended in.
But the other area
in which they were compromising
was in their witness.
If you look at verse 5,
Jesus is,
in verse 5,
is he's promising,
making three promises
to those who overcome,
those who conquer compromise.
And the last one,
he says,
I will confess his name
before my Father
and before his angels.
The one who confesses me,
this is Matthew 10, 32,
I will confess
before the Father.
You know what the implication,
the inference is?
This is a church
that is not witnessing
to Jesus.
He's not going to acknowledge
anyone who does not
acknowledge him.
And what I mean by witness
isn't pulling your pulpit out
and preaching
a 40-minute sermon
to your neighbors.
To witness
is not that complicated.
Think of witnessing as this.
You're just giving credit
to where credit's due.
You're just acknowledging Jesus
for the good things
that he's doing in your life.
That's all that witnessing is.
You're testifying
to the goodness
of the Lord Jesus
and his work in your life.
You might,
someone might say,
hey, you're a really nice guy.
You witness by saying,
you know what,
I was a real jerk
back in the day,
but Jesus has made me nice.
You're witnessing.
Or,
hey, you're a really nice guy.
Oh, you know what,
I used to be a nice guy
because I feared
what other people
think about me,
but Jesus has set me free
from that,
so I don't care
what you think anymore
because Jesus is doing
a work in my life.
That's witnessing.
They had compromised
their witness.
They're ashamed
of Jesus.
They're not speaking up.
They're remaining silent.
Now,
who in this room
has not,
at some time,
willfully compromised
their exclusive devotion
to Jesus
in one of these areas,
whether your walk
or your witness?
And just to let you know,
these two are very much
related to one another.
Your walk
validates
your witness.
So,
if you have
a compromised walk,
chances are
you're going to have
a compromised witness
and therefore,
you're not going to say anything.
There is an epidemic
in our culture.
It's pornography.
And what happens
to a Christian
who is entangled
in pornography
is they become ashamed
of the sin
that they're mired in
because their walk
is compromised.
And when they're given
opportunities
to witness to Jesus,
they are not going to
because they're ashamed
of themselves.
They've nothing
to point to.
Compromised life
results in a
compromised witness.
And it's
exactly the opposite
of what the Holy Spirit
is wanting to do
in a church.
The Holy Spirit
is seeking to
make us holy
and to make us bold.
Now,
if our lives
blend into
the non-Christian
culture around us,
our witness
to Christ
will make no sense.
But,
if,
when our lives
stand out
for Christ,
now that gives us
something to talk about
regarding Jesus.
It doesn't matter
what people think,
but we're able
to witness
to what He's doing
in our lives.
A compromised walk
results in a
compromised witness.
Jesus is going to
say to this church.
What is He going to
say to this church
that has just
kind of blended in
and kept its head
low and not
kind of ruffled
feathers and being
identified with Jesus?
What's He going to
say to them?
What's He going to
say to us?
We looked at the church,
now let's look at the
Christ.
Jesus says two things
about Himself.
They're very interesting.
He says,
the words of Him
who has the seven
spirits of God
and the seven stars.
This is the pattern
with these letters.
Jesus introduces
the church
and then He says
something about Himself.
And He says two things.
Let's take the last first.
He has the seven stars.
We already know
what He's talking about
because in Revelation
1.20,
He says that the seven stars
are the seven angels
of the seven churches.
And He has them.
He's holding them.
And the idea there is
He is reigning over them.
He is sovereignly ruling
over the spiritual world
of angels and demons.
They do His bidding
as we make our way
through the book of Revelation.
And when we get into
chapter 6 and 8
and 9 and 11,
we're going to start
coming into contact
with the seven seals
and the seven trumpets.
In chapter 5,
there is the one
on the throne
holding a scroll,
God's plan
for the fullness of time.
And there's only one
who can take it.
It's the Lamb
who was slain
and is alive.
And that scroll
has seven seals.
And the one
who is able
to open the scroll
and break those seals
is the one
who is able
to execute
God's plan
for the fullness of time.
And what we see
in chapter 6 and 8,
9 and 11
as Jesus,
the risen Lamb,
breaks a scroll,
do you know what happens?
Angels scramble
to do His bidding.
He's in control.
It reminds us
that we're in a spiritual battle.
But it reminds us
that Jesus
is reigning on high,
carrying out His purposes.
It's that other
description of Himself
that I wanted to draw
your attention to now.
He has the seven spirits
of God.
That's an interesting
thing to say.
What are the seven
spirits of God?
Well, throughout
the book of Revelation,
the seven spirits
of God is a way
of talking about
the one Holy Spirit
of God.
Remember,
seven in the Hebrew mind
means fullness
and completeness.
The fullness
of the Spirit.
The fullness
we see it
in chapter 1,
verses 4 and 5
where the Holy Spirit,
these seven spirits
of God,
are connected
to God the Father
who is and was
and is to come
and God the Son
who is the true witness,
the King of the earth.
It's a triune greeting
in the book of Revelation.
In chapter 4,
verse 5,
the seven spirits
of God
are described
as being
the seven torches
of burning fire
before God.
remember,
the churches
are the lampstands
that Jesus
is in the midst of
and these torches
of fire
are on top
of the lampstands.
The Holy Spirit
is present
in His people
to light up
the church
with a contrasting
walk
of blamelessness
and a boldness
of witness
that stands
us out.
In 5, 6,
the seven spirits
of God
is described
as the seven eyes
of the Lamb
sent throughout
all the earth.
If you're familiar
with the gospel
of John and all,
you'll know
that in John 14, 26,
Jesus talks about
He and the Father
sending out
the Holy Spirit
to remind
His disciples
of all that
He has said,
to speak
to the world.
And in John 15, 26,
Jesus again says,
He and the Father
have sent out
the Holy Spirit,
the helper,
to bear witness
to Jesus.
And then in 16, 7,
through 12,
Jesus again says,
the Holy Spirit,
He is sending Him
out into the world
to convict
the world of sin,
righteousness,
and judgment
in order to expose
the world
of their need
for Jesus.
the seven spirits
of God
is the one Holy Spirit
sent forth
to empower the church
for global witness.
He is the life-giving,
the Holy Spirit
is the life-giving power
of a local church
to walk blameless
and witness boldly.
Breath is to your body
as to the Holy Spirit
is to a church
and just to clarify,
at the moment
you believed,
brother,
sister in Christ,
God the Holy Spirit
took up residency
in your life.
He came to dwell in you,
sealing you for Himself,
Ephesians 1, 13,
the moment you believed,
enabling you to walk
in holiness
and to bear witness
to your Lord Jesus Christ.
So,
why is Jesus saying
all this stuff
to a church
that is essentially
flat-lined?
He's got life.
I've got life
to give to you,
Sardis.
I have the Holy Spirit
who will enliven you
and empower you.
Jesus doesn't want
His church flat-lining.
He wants His church thriving.
The prayer that Brian
prayed this morning,
oh, may that be
the prayer of all of us.
Oh, God,
would You pour out
Your Spirit upon us,
Your people,
reviving us
to live holy lives
and to proclaim Jesus
with boldness,
to give Him credit
for everything good
He's doing in our lives.
So, here we have the Christ,
Jesus,
saying to this church,
remember me,
I'm the one
with the seven spirits
and the seven angels.
I'm ruling over it all.
And He knows something.
Look at the claim.
We're still in verse one.
I know your works,
He says to this church.
I know your works.
I can see your heart.
Now, we have seen Jesus
say this now.
This is the fifth time
in five weeks
Jesus has said this.
I know.
I know your works.
We're going to see it
in the next two weeks
to Philadelphia,
3.8.
I know your works
to Laodicea,
3.15.
I know your works.
And we can start thinking,
yada, yada, yada, yada.
I know, I know, I know.
Jesus knows,
Jesus knows.
Remember the fire eyes.
He has eyes
like flames of fire.
They penetrate
into the hidden depths
of every person,
every church,
and His penetrating sight
is a purifying presence.
He purposed
before the foundation
of the world
to present His church,
His bride,
to Himself
in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle,
holy,
and without blemish,
blameless.
That's His purpose
in our midst.
1 Thessalonians 4.7,
for God has not called us
for impurity,
but in holiness.
No compromises.
He wants us
to walk blameless,
and He knows
when we don't.
Here we have a picture
of Jesus poised,
purposed,
to purify His people.
It's the most loving thing
He can do for us.
He loves us so much,
He wants us to share
in His holiness.
It's a holy happiness.
A holy joy.
And just to remind you,
the happiest person
in all of existence
is God Himself,
and He's the holiest of all.
Now, I can imagine right now
that the Spirit of God
is at work in some of you.
And here's what's happening.
You may be hearing
what I am saying,
and simultaneously
to you hearing
what I'm saying,
you are trying
to keep something
compartmentalized.
You're trying
to keep something
away from these words
falling on your ears.
There is something
in your life
that you'd rather
ignore than to address
because you know
that it's grievous
to the Spirit of God,
maybe even
quenching of the Spirit
in our midst.
And what you're trying
to do is compartmentalize it.
Don't look there.
There's an area
of your life
that you don't want
to open the door to
and let the light
of Christ shine in.
Brothers and sisters,
if you're there,
Jesus already sees it.
He already sees it.
I know your works.
He knows where
you're compromising
in your walk
or your witness.
And out of love
for you,
His uncompromising,
commitment to you,
He wants to grow you,
purify you,
make you holy
in both walk
and witness.
I know your works.
Your Lord Jesus Christ
wants good for you.
So what is this
risen, radiant,
and reigning Christ?
What does He have to say
to this compromising church?
I know your works.
And what He says next
is striking.
We're still in verse 1.
You have the reputation
of being alive,
but you're dead.
You think you're alive,
but I know you're dead.
That's Jesus addressing
the church,
and He's the guy
with the flames of fire,
eyes.
He knows it all.
He says you have a reputation
of being alive.
Literally,
it's the word name.
You have a name
for yourself
of being alive,
but I know you're dead.
What kind of reputation?
Who knows
that they are alive?
Well, contextually,
it seems like
most likely
the other churches
know that they are alive
or think that they are alive.
Maybe something like this happened.
Imagine,
the church of Sardis,
maybe years before,
was not compromising,
but walking in spirit power,
and they were experiencing growth.
They had a thriving
children's ministry,
vibrant corporate worship.
The six other churches
were like sending them emails
and sending them texts
and sending them
kind of groups of people.
Hey, what are you guys doing?
This is amazing.
Help us understand
how you're growing so much.
Show us, show us.
You guys are alive.
But somewhere along the way,
they let go of the rope.
Sardis,
they were just
gliding.
Have you ever seen somebody
water skiing before?
I read that.
I read this illustration
this past week.
I got to use it.
Maybe you're out at Silver Lake.
You see someone
water skiing.
They're holding on
to that rope
of that power boat,
and they're just being
pulled along.
Eventually,
a water skier
is going to need to say,
hey, I'm worn out.
I'm just going to let go.
And usually,
the water skier
just kind of glides
for 10, 20, 30 feet,
depending on how fast
the power boat's going.
Now,
it would be a mistake
for that water skier
at that moment
he is gliding along
to think that he is
actually powering
his gliding.
because he's let go
of the rope.
As soon as he lets go
of the rope,
it's a precursor
to his sinking.
How long do you think
a church can glide
after compromising Jesus,
after letting go
of the rope,
after letting go
of the power
of the rope?
How long can a church
go through the motions
after compromising
their exclusive
devotion,
dependence,
think,
Jesus is the vine
where the branches
broken off.
How long can you go
as a church?
You can go for a while.
You can go through
the motion for years.
But what I'm calling
gliding,
Jesus calls
flatlining.
You have a reputation
of being alive.
You may look like
you're living,
but I know
you're flatlining.
You know what I mean
by flatlining?
Maybe you've seen
a TV show.
A patient is hooked up
to an EKG machine
and it's displaying
a patient's heartbeat.
It's like,
beep, beep, beep, beep,
tracking their heartbeat.
As long as they've
got a heartbeat,
everything's good.
But when the heart
stops,
the EKG flatlines
and goes,
beep.
No heartbeat.
The church in Sardis
was flatlined.
Beep.
Their compromise
is a compromise
induced death coma.
Now, by God's grace,
I don't believe
Christ the King
church is flatlining.
It's by His grace.
But here's what I do know.
We're just one
letting go of the rope
away from gliding.
We're on the edge,
always on the edge,
of letting go
of the rope,
letting go
of our power source,
Jesus and His Spirit.
We can just let go
and we can glide
for a while.
But in the sight of God,
we're beginning
to flatline.
Compromising Christ
in our walks,
compromising Christ
in our witness.
It's letting go
of the rope.
We're starting
to flatline.
We're denying
His power.
We're denying
this is a sharp criticism.
You think
you are alive,
but I know
you're dead.
Could you imagine
receiving this letter
if you're Sardis?
Here's what Jesus
is doing.
He's calling
this church out.
He's saying
to this church,
okay, church,
you've got to decide.
You've got to decide
what you think
others are saying
about you is true
or are you going
to believe
my word
and what I'm saying
about you
is true.
You pick.
Their compromise
had led to
a self-deception.
They think that
they're spiritually
rocking it,
but they're spiritually
flatlining it.
This is his criticism.
But you know
what I'm so grateful for?
He doesn't leave it
at that.
This church
whom Jesus
criticizes,
he provides
correction.
And it's
life-giving correction.
This is words
from the uncompromising
Christ
committed to his church.
But I've got to tell you
up front,
they're a bit shocking.
In verses 2 and 3,
we see the correction.
Jesus speaks
five shocking commands
to revive
a flatlining church.
We've talked about
the EKG machine.
Let's talk about
the AED machine,
automated external
defibrillator.
What these things do
is they basically,
you stick patches
on either side
of a person's heart
whose heart
has stopped beating
and they're hooked up
to a machine
that generates
an electric charge
and that machine
on its own
decides to when
it releases
the charge
and then the charge
goes through one part
of one's chest
through the heart
to the other part
of that patch
and it's designed
to jumpstart
a flatlined heart.
It's shocking.
And that's what
these five commands
are to this church.
Jesus loves this church
and so he is going
to shock them,
to revive them,
to bring them back
to life.
Here they are.
Verse 2,
he says,
wake up,
rouse yourself,
see what's going on.
You're comatose.
You've compromised.
Two,
strengthen what remains.
Don't just wake up.
Strengthen what remains.
Strengthen those
who are remaining
to live exclusively
for me
and strengthen those
who are willing
to live exclusively
for me.
Strengthen them.
How do you strengthen them?
How do we strengthen
one another?
How do we strengthen
one another
in our living
for Jesus?
Well,
at this church,
that's why we have
life groups,
to be honest with you.
Life groups
are groups of Christians
who kind of work
around this book
because this book
gives life.
And these are groups
of Christians
who are seeking
to live out
their lives,
their walks
for the glory
of Jesus.
Jesus.
And for our life groups,
it requires
a proximity
in which these
groups of people
are coming together
on a regular basis.
And it requires
an honesty
with one another.
This is my life.
This is the hardships
I'm facing.
This is the temptations
I'm dealing with.
And the reason why
we're honest
with each other
is so that we can
strengthen one another.
We can encourage
one another.
We can say to one another,
oh man,
that temptation
is real, brother.
But let me just
remind you
that your Lord Jesus
who died for you,
he is worth it all.
Don't give up.
Press on through.
How can I help?
Let's pray.
We strengthen
one another,
pointing to each other
to this book
so that it can have
its intended effect
to give us strength
to persevere.
We strengthen
each other.
And then the third
shock
is that word
remember.
Verse 3.
Remember then
what you have received
and heard.
Remember what you've
received and heard.
What you've heard
is from the apostles
the gospel
in its fullness.
Apostolic teaching
of the gospel.
And part of that teaching
is teaching on
the Holy Spirit
whom they have received
when they were saved.
The Holy Spirit
is in them
to produce
holiness
and bold witness.
Remember.
The tense in the Greek
is keep on remembering.
Don't stop
remembering.
Remembering.
Remember the life-giving
doctrine of
biblical Christianity
says Jesus
to this church
seeking to revive them.
remember my words.
And just don't remember.
Next shock.
Keep it.
And again
the tense in Greek
is keep on
keeping it.
Hold fast
to what you have heard
until I come.
Revelation 2.25
hold fast
to the gospel.
Hold fast
to me
Sardis.
Prioritize me.
Protect
our relationship.
I'm your first love.
Hold on.
Don't let go
of me.
I am
what you need.
We can only live
for one thing
brothers and sisters.
There's only one thing
that warrants
our ultimate
all-encompassing
devotion.
and Jesus
makes no
has no reservations
in saying
it's me.
I'm your treasure.
I'm your life.
I'm your everything.
Keep it.
Don't let go.
Hold on
to Jesus.
Keep on
keeping on.
And the last
zap
is that word
repent.
keep it
and repent.
What Jesus
is talking about
is a decisive
turning away
from compromise.
If you're aware
of where you're
compromising
your life right now
what Jesus
is saying
hey don't linger
there.
Don't feed
that little pet.
Don't house
that little pet.
Kick it out.
Turn from it.
And when you
turn from your
compromise
you're going to
turn to the
living Christ.
One of my
favorite
Psalms
is Psalm
119
and in
verses 59
and 60
we read this
when I think
on my ways
when I think
on my compromise
I turn my feet
to your testimonies.
Turn.
And then in
verse 60
I hasten
and do not
delay
to keep
your commandments.
Not only
do I
turn away
from my
compromise
and turn
to your
testimonies
I go.
I move.
I don't
linger.
I'm not
slow about it.
I hasten
and do not
delay
to keep
your commandments.
Repentance
is a turning
from your
compromise
and a
turning to
with thrusters
on full blast
to Jesus.
Don't
linger
in your
compromise.
Repent.
These five
commands
they are
the verbal
shock
to revive
this
flatline
church.
And we
also see
this warning
in verse
3.
If you
will not
wake up
if you
will not
respond to
what I'm
saying
if you
will
just
kind of
arch your
back
at this
I will
come like
a thief
and you
will not
know the
hour I
come
against
you.
The one
who is
holding out
life
to his
church
in mercy
in love
and in
grace
says
hey if
you're not
going to
respond to
this
I'm
going to
come
at a
time
where
you
don't
know
I'm
going to
come
against
you.
It's
akin to
what he
says
in
Ephesus
in
verse
5
if
not
if
you
don't
repent
Ephesus
I'll
come
to
you
and
remove
your
lamb
stand
from
its
place.
Jesus
is
going to
come
against
this
church
if
they
don't
respond
to
his
life
giving
words
and
it
seems
as
though
in
the
thinking
of
Jesus
it
goes
something
like
this
better
no
church
than
a
compromised
church
that
is
unwilling
to
repent
and
is
confusing
everybody
about
who
I
am.
What a
Jesus.
He's
simultaneously
giving
this
church
an
opportunity
to
respond
but
he's
so
jealous
for
his
name
he's
not
going
to
tolerate
their
compromise
for
everything
forever.
Now if
you're in
this room
and you
know
you're
compromising
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
there's
that
one
area
of
your
life
you
just
want
to
keep
the
door
shut
on
but
you
got
to
open
it
if
you're
saying
oh
that
is
compromise
in
the
sight
of
God
he's
calling
you
to
repent
because
of
his
uncompromised
commitment
to
you
he
loves
you
he
wants
you
to
share
in
his
holiness
this
correction
turns
to
commendation
in
verse
four
yet
you
still
have
a few
names
in
Sardis
this
church
is
not
completely
dead
and
I
think
that
this
reference
to
the
few
names
is
connected
to
what
remains
those
people
who
are
willing
to
still
repent
verse
four
there
are
just
a few
in
Sardis
who
have
not
compromised
and
Jesus
knows
their
names
he
knows
who
they
are
he
knows
these
faithful
few
who
have
not
compromised
so
it's
not
completely
over
for
the
church
in
Sardis
the
Lord
by
his
spirit
has
preserved
a
faithful
few
a
remnant
whom
he
also
calls
worthy
to
wear
the
white
garments
of
the
new
Jerusalem
and
they
will
walk
with
me
in
white
they
remain
faithful
they
have
proven
to
be
mine
are
these
uncompromised
few
in
Sardis
are
they
perfect
no
but
neither
are
they
compromising
their
walk
in a
chronic
sense
they're
not
blending
in
they're
standing
out
they're
not
compromising
their
witness
they're
not
keeping
their
mouth
shut
out
of
fear
of
what
other
people
think
about
them
they
are
actually
giving
credit
to
where
credit
is
due
in
the
work
that
Jesus
is
doing
in
their
life
so
this
commentation
leaves
us
with
this
sense
of
hope
for
this
church
Jesus
isn't
done
yet
he's
held
a
remnant
and
he's
certainly
not
done
with
us
is
he
wants
Christ
the
king
church
to be
the
uncompromising
few
in the
city
of
Kenosha
this
commendation
is
hope
giving
and
then
there's
the
closing
call
in
verses
five
and
six
in
all
these
letters
Jesus
closes
each
one
with
a
call
to
individuals
to
conquer
to
overcome
the
one
who
conquers
in
verse
five
will
be
clothed
thus
in
white
garments
just
like
those
the
faithful
few
and
Sardis
who
will
wear
white
with
me
and
walk
with
me
in
the
new
Jerusalem
so
will
anyone
who
conquers
who
overcomes
it's
for all
the
churches
to
hear
the
call
here
is
to
overcome
compromising
one's
walk
and
one's
witness
and
the
way
that
Jesus
does
it
is
by
pointing
to
three
promises
the
first
promise
is
this
he
excuse
me
the
one
who
conquers
will
be
clothed
thus
in
white
garments
these
are
new
Jerusalem
white
garments
and
they're
white
because
the
robes
had
been
washed
in
the
blood
of
the
lamb
revelation
7
13
you know
if there
was a
color
swatch
for
this
color
white
do you
know
what it
would be
called
justified
white
new
Jerusalem
white
forgiven
of all
your
sins
white
it's
a picture
of
purity
Jesus
is saying
hey
if you
overcome
if you
don't
compromise
all the
days of
your
life
you've
got
the
white
wardrobe
of the
new
Jerusalem
waiting
for
you
I'll
put it
on you
myself
the
second
promise
to the
one who
conquers
or the
one who
overcomes
Jesus
says
I will
never
blot
his
name
out
of
the
book
of
life
the
book
of
life
is
going
to
show
up
a
few
times
in
the
book
of
Revelation
at
the
end
in
Revelation
20
anyone
whose
name
is
not
written
in
the
book
of
life
will
be
thrown
into
the
lake
of
fire
now
what's
helpful
to
know
is
when
you
get
your
name
written
in
the
book
of
life
and
if
you
looked
at
chapter
13
verse
8
chapter
17
verse
8
the
names
of
all
who
will
be
saved
by
the
shed
blood
of
the
lamb
their
names
are
entered
into
the
book
of
life
quote
end
quote
before
the
foundation
of
the
world
these
are
the
elect
those
whom
God
has
called
in
grace
to
persevere
all
the
days
of
their
life
their
perseverance
proves
that they
belong
to
God
so
this
is a
promise
it's
not
a
threat
this
is a
promise
to
all
of
us
who
are
seeking
to
persevere
and
not
compromising
but
remaining
true
to
Jesus
it's
a
promise
and
it's
emphatic
in the
original
language
it's
like
Jesus
is
saying
I'll
never
no
never
ever
blot
your
name
out
of
the
book
of
life
no
way
you're
legit
you're
one
whom
my
father
set
his
love
upon
before
the
foundation
of
the
world
you're
going
to
come
through
it's
a
tremendous
confidence
booster
it's
a
promise
but
it's
to
those
who
overcome
and
only
to
those
who
overcome
because
those
who
overcome
are
those
who
belong
to
God
the
last
promise
to
the
one
who
conquers
who
overcomes
compromise
compromising
their
witness
Jesus
himself
says
I
will
confess
his
name
before
my
father
in
heaven
it's
coming
back
to
Matthew
10
32
it's
not
an
incomplete
work
a
witness
of
giving
credit
to
where
credit
is
due
to
Jesus
it's
a
full
witness
it's
a
complete
witness
this
is
overcomer
is
someone
who
is
unashamed
of
the
name
of
Jesus
she
confesses
Jesus
before
all
men
and
Jesus
is
not
ashamed
to
confess
her
name
before
his
father
are
you
ashamed
of
Jesus
are
you
ashamed
to
name
his
name
are
you
ashamed
to
publicly
give
him
credit
for
the
work
he's
really
doing
in
your
life
you're
towing
compromise
don't
let go
of that
rope
keep
it
repent
if
you
must
this
is
what
the
spirit
is
saying
to
the
churches
he
who
has
an
ear
hear
what
the
spirit
is
saying
to
the
churches
and
here's
what
Jesus
the
spirit
his
spirit
is
saying
to
us
this
morning
a
compromised
church
is a
real
possibility
and a
compromised
church
is a
spiritually
flatlining
church
but a
repentant
church
a church
that
hears
delights
in
and obeys
the word
of Jesus
that's a
church
spiritually
alive
growing
in
blameless
walking
growing
in bold
witnessing
that's
what we
must hear
turn
from your
compromise
and out
of trusting
in
Jesus
overcome
some
kinds of
compromise
well they're
good and
normal
then there's
the compromise
of loyalty
to Jesus
Christ the
King
church
may by the
power of
God's
spirit
the seven
spirits of
God in
all his
fullness
we
must
be
the
uncompromised
few
who walk
blamelessly
and who
witness
boldly
because
Jesus
is
worth it
let's pray
spirit
of the
living
God
would you
fall
afresh
upon
us
would
you
do
a
work
we
welcome
your
work
spirit
of
God
to
purify
us
your
people
and to
give us
a boldness
to proclaim
you
Jesus
be exalted
in our
church
it's in
your name
we pray
amen