What matters most in life is what other people think of me.
What do you think of this statement?
What matters most in life is what other people think of me.
Do you think this way?
Maybe unintentionally sometimes?
I want to have a really good reputation.
I want other people to think of me highly.
That's how I'll get a pay increase.
That's how I'll get that promotion.
That's how I'll get that girl to notice me.
I'll have a great reputation.
I'll make myself look better to the boss.
I'll get to work really early.
I'll leave late.
I might try and dress up for the girl and for the boss maybe.
Do you ever think this way?
How about this statement?
What matters most in life is what God thinks of me.
This one is a bit scarier.
What matters most in life is what God thinks of me.
Who here could say that they are concerned about what God thinks about them all the time?
Not me.
I want to be able to say this.
I wish this was true.
But it's not.
And it's scary because God sees everything.
It's not like I can just do a couple of nice things.
Look pretty good on the outside.
Wear some fashionable clothes.
And God's going to think all of a sudden that I'm a good guy.
What is your reputation before God?
Today we're continuing in our series in the book of Revelation.
And we're looking at Jesus' letter to the city and to the church of Sardis.
And Jesus knows all about this city's reputation.
And he has some hard words for them.
So we're going to see what Jesus says to Sardis
before we see what Jesus has to say to us.
So please have your Bibles open at Revelation chapter 3 verse 1.
To the angel of the church in Sardis write,
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
I know your deeds.
You have a reputation of being alive.
But you are dead.
The church in Sardis had a reputation.
They looked alive.
There were outward signs of vigor and spirituality.
People would have exclaimed,
Oh, this church, they're so healthy.
They're so vibrant.
They're so alive.
There's so much happening.
They would have looked like paradise to some of the other churches.
To the other churches in the area who were facing persecution,
Sardis would have been like a holiday destination of a church.
They're so vibrant.
They're growing.
Their preaching is so entertaining and short.
Their whole church service doesn't even go for an hour.
Praise Jesus.
The other churches we've heard about in Revelation,
Well, they're doing it tough.
You can imagine them saying,
I wish I was at that church in Sardis.
I wish I lived in that city so I wasn't faced with the persecution,
with the poverty, with the starvation and fear of death that I'm facing.
Because there's something unique about this city.
This church in Sardis.
There is no persecution mentioned.
In all of these letters to the different cities,
there's persecution mentioned in all of them except here in Sardis.
The church at Ephesus was struggling with evil people.
In Smyrna, there was tribulation and poverty.
In Pergamum, Jesus says that Satan has power over this place.
And in Thyatira, we saw last week,
they're faced with the sexual immorality of Jezebel.
And to each of these cities, even though there's persecution,
Jesus has something positive to say.
But when we get to Sardis, it's a different story.
Jesus has nothing positive to say about this city.
Instead, Jesus says,
I know your works.
You have the reputation of being alive.
But you are dead.
You are a dead church.
You have it easy.
There's no persecution from outside.
To all the world, you look like a healthy, vibrant church.
But really, you are a husk of a church.
Once alive, but now dead.
This reputation that this church has,
it's just all fake.
It's just all lies.
Because the problem is,
there's a gap between their reputation and reality.
Sardis has a very different reputation with God.
Have a look at the second part of verse 2 with me.
For I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
The church is obviously busy,
doing all kinds of works,
probably very good works,
feeding the poor,
going to church every day,
reading the Bible.
But before God,
their works were not complete.
They were just going through the motions.
Their works are not the result of obedience and repentance.
From the outside,
they looked like they were doing what churches do,
following God.
But to God,
they were fake.
Just going through the motions.
Jesus says in verse 4,
that there are still a few
who hadn't let death overtake them.
There are still a few who were following Jesus.
And they're described as not having soiled their clothes.
It's a really graphic image.
You know,
I've got two little children.
I can tell you what soiled clothes look like.
It's very graphic.
These people have not let defilement come in.
The implication for the rest of the church is,
defilement sin has crept in.
They have soiled their clothes with it.
And it's made a mess of their lives.
The sin of the other cities was obvious.
They were worshipping other gods.
They were sexually immoral.
But here,
the sin of Sardis was more subtle.
It was hidden.
And the problem is that the church had gotten lazy.
They'd been convinced that their busyness
was a sign that they were healthy.
They had a reputation that they were alive.
And they were convinced by their own reputation.
It seems that they hadn't checked their heart before God.
They hadn't asked the question,
are we just turning up to church on Sunday?
Or are we being passionate about Jesus,
wanting to do His will,
and to love and serve Him?
Or are we just going through the motions?
We would probably call these people nominal Christians.
People who just turn up on Sunday.
Maybe they give money.
Maybe they go along to Bible study.
Maybe they even get involved in things like
supper and going out afterwards.
Maybe they read the Bible.
Maybe they help out when they need it.
They know the right words to say.
They know what it looks like to be a Christian.
They look right.
They sound right.
They smell right.
But they don't live out that obedience to Jesus.
There's a gap between the head and the heart.
It's a thing that happens on Sundays
and they don't love Jesus.
There is no heart connection.
This behavior,
it's really hypocrisy.
Saying one thing and doing another.
The church in Sardis,
they thought,
look, I'm going through the motions.
I'm doing these things
and therefore God must live.
If I tick these boxes,
I'm all right with God.
This church had forgotten what they had heard.
They had turned away and forgotten about Jesus.
These are hard words to hear.
Everything you've been doing as a church has been a waste.
You think you've been loving God,
but you as a church are dead.
This is damning.
And it's probably the hardest words
that Jesus has to say to any of these cities.
But Jesus doesn't leave them there in this position.
He gives them some words.
He gives them some things to wake up.
And the first of them,
have a look in verse 2 again.
He says,
wake up.
Or more literally,
it's watch out.
Watch out.
Now, if you came from Sardis,
these words,
watch out,
would have a very special meaning for you.
Let me just give you a brief picture
of Sardis' history.
The city of Sardis
actually had a wonderful reputation.
At one point,
they were one of the most powerful cities.
The city,
the majority of the city,
was located on top of a mountain,
Mount Tmolus.
And it had these massive walls.
Walls that were over 1,500 feet high.
If you don't know the measurement feet,
that means it's really big walls.
And this city,
they just had the reputation
that you don't mess with Sardis.
You can't get through these walls.
So armies didn't come against them
because they had this reputation
of being totally impenetrable.
But twice in its history,
first by Cyrus in the 6th century
and then by Antiochus the Great
in the 3rd century,
they overtook this city.
Not by sending a massive army
against these walls,
but by sending a few men
to climb up over the wall
when no one was looking
to open the gates
to let the army in.
The failure of the city of Sardis
was that they didn't watch out.
They didn't have people watching the walls
for that subtle hidden attack
from their enemy.
They thought they were invincible.
They believed their own reputation.
So when Jesus says to the church in Sardis,
watch out,
it's a reminder
of what had happened to this city.
Watch out for sin
that has crept into your lives,
which has climbed over the walls
of your defences
when you weren't looking
and has rotted you out
like a worm
in a piece of fruit.
Don't be lazy.
Watch out.
Don't think all is well.
Don't think your Christian faith
won't be tested.
So Sardis needs to watch out
because they've become complacent.
The second thing that Jesus says
is to strengthen what remains,
again in verse 2.
Strengthen what remains.
There are still some
in the city
and in the church of Sardis
who are following Jesus.
And the command is that
they are to strengthen
what remains.
Exhort the others in the church
to watchfulness.
A strong church
will care for each brother and sister.
If you're a committed Christian,
you can't just worry about yourself.
That's the Western individualistic lie
that we live in.
But you're to encourage,
to rebuke,
to love your brothers and sisters.
When you see your brother or sister sinning,
tell them to stop.
Make sure that the church
doesn't get infested
with hollowed out Christians.
People who come along to church
and confess his name
with their mouths,
but throughout the week
they just worship themselves.
Worshiping other gods
or worshiping themselves
with their time and money.
The Christians
in the city of Sardis
should have been
watching out for themselves
and for their brothers and sisters
to encourage
what remained.
And the third imperative
that Jesus gives
to fix this church,
he says it in verse 3,
Remember.
Remember what you have received
and heard.
Remember the gospel.
That's what they had heard.
The good news
that Jesus died and rose.
And what did they receive?
Well, they'd receive forgiveness,
new life,
the promise of resurrection
with Jesus
and the presence
of the Holy Spirit
dwelling within.
Don't forget this.
Coe, where are you?
Brother, for you today,
don't forget today.
Don't forget today's date.
It's the 31st of August, 2014.
Have that tattooed
on the back of your hand,
maybe the back of your eyelid.
So when you close your eyes,
you're reminded of today.
Because today is the day
you have heard the gospel.
Today is the day
where you stood right here
and were baptized
and you said,
I'm going to follow Jesus.
Today is the day
that I am going to turn away
from my sin
and I'm going to turn to Jesus
and follow Him.
In years to come,
when it gets difficult,
following Jesus is hard.
Remember the gospel
you have heard today.
For those of us
who have been Christians
for a while,
remember that time
when you first
took ownership of God.
Whether it was
five years ago,
10, 20, 50,
I don't care what it is.
Remember when you first
heard the gospel.
This shouldn't make us
feel guilty,
but it's a reminder
of what God
has been doing
in us,
for us.
And could it be
that for this church
and for us
that they should remember
the passion
and faithfulness
which they had
initially accepted
the gospel?
When they were first
on fire for Jesus,
when they gave away
their possessions
when it hurt,
when they loved Jesus
even in the face
of opposition,
the way that they lived
until sin
crept over their walls
and hollowed them out
from the inside.
Instead,
turn away from the world,
live a life transformed
by Jesus,
not one
worshipping idols.
Instead,
again,
the next thing Jesus says
is to obey the gospel,
obey it
and repent.
Jesus calls on
this dead church
to turn away
from their life of sin,
their false worship,
their routine of church
which is not really church.
Renew their worship
of Jesus.
I think this is
one of the hardest parts
of being a Christian,
consistently considering
your heart
and your actions
before God
through His Spirit.
our desires
quickly and easily
get defiled
by sin
which creeps
into our lives
like an attack
over the wall
of Sardis.
We're bombarded
by sexualized images
in media,
on billboards
and so that step
to looking at pornography
is so much smaller
and easier.
we get into
dangerous patterns
where sin
creeps in
and we don't
consider God.
Our heart
and our desires
get perverted
and it happens
subtly.
Let me share
something that
happened to me
earlier in the year.
I don't mind
a drink of alcohol
occasionally
as long as you're
over 18.
You know,
a glass of wine
or a beer
on occasions.
I don't think
there's necessarily
anything wrong
with these things
but I suppose
it depends
on the person.
But what happened
for me
was a difficult
thing.
I'm sure
many of you,
well not many of you,
I'm sure some of you
have had real struggles
in the big scheme
of things.
Mine is quite small
but what happened
for me is that
Alyssa has been
studying the diploma
in Bible and ministry
through,
well college,
on a Wednesday night
and so Alyssa
would go out
on a Wednesday night,
I would put Isaac
to bed and I would
have these glorious
two hours where I
could watch whatever
I want on TV.
I could relax,
I didn't have to
watch MasterChef or
whatever Alyssa
usually watches.
And so I would
relax and I'd have
a drink.
It could be a glass
of wine,
a beer and
you know,
maybe just one
or two.
It wasn't that
many a week.
You know,
I might have one
on a night.
I wasn't getting
drunk.
I didn't become
an alcoholic.
But what happened
was I began to
tie relaxing
with having a
drink.
And so when I
wanted to relax
on the weekend,
well I'd have a
drink.
And I noticed
all of a sudden
that I was heading
down a dangerous
path.
I noticed
that if I
continued in
the pattern
I was setting,
it would get
dangerous for me.
So I took
a month off
alcohol.
I just wanted
to kill
this relationship
I had with
relaxation.
I didn't
become an
alcoholic and
I'm not
necessarily saying
there's anything
wrong with it.
But for me,
at this point,
I noticed it
was becoming
a dangerous
habit.
Because our
desires quickly
and easily get
defiled by sin.
It creeps into
our lives like
an attack over
the wall when
we're not
watching.
We need to
continually obey
God, to
repent, to
turn away from
our sin.
For those who
do repent,
Jesus calls them
conquerors.
Have a look at
verse 5 with
me.
The one who
conquers will
be clothed
thus in
white garments
and I will
never blot his
name out of
the book of
life.
I will confess
his name before
my father and
before his
angels.
Clothed in
white,
purified,
there is no
more sin
attached to
them.
Written in
the book of
life.
I'm not sure
if there is a
literal book
that God
writes in.
I don't think
it really
matters.
but what is
important here
is the
assurance that
Jesus gives.
It is
worthwhile
turning aside
from the
world and
following Jesus
because we
can have
assurance that
we will have
new life with
him.
Jesus will
tell his
father about
us.
We will have
the absolute
best reputation.
We will be
given white
garments we
don't deserve,
a reputation
we don't
deserve,
because it
will be
Christ's
reputation.
And that
is the
one which
God will
see.
So there
is some
hope for
this church
of Sardis.
While they
are dead,
if they
repent and
turn back
to Jesus,
there is
hope.
But if
they don't,
there is
judgment
coming for
them.
Have a look
again at
verse 3
with me.
Jesus
says he
will come
to
Sardis
in
judgment,
just like
the
judgment
and the
attacks that
came against
the city
of Sardis.
They came
unexpectedly,
secretly in
the night,
scaling over
the wall,
and Jesus
says he
will come
unexpectedly.
If they
don't repent
and turn
back to
him,
he will
come in
judgment.
So the
question I
asked at
the start,
let me ask
that question
again,
what is
your reputation
before God?
If Jesus
was writing
a letter to
this city
and to
this church
and to
you
specifically,
what would
he say?
would he
say,
I know
your deeds.
You look
alive,
but you
are dead.
I have
found you
wanting in
the sight
of God.
You are
just going
through the
motions.
You are
going to
church when
you feel
like it.
You
consider
once a
month
regular.
How can
you hear
my words
and follow
me if
you're not
being encouraged
with your
brothers and
sisters to
do that?
How can
you help
love and
build others
up in the
church if
you're not
even there?
Would
Jesus say,
I love
you and
I want
you to
know what
I do
for you and
what I
will do
for you.
I want
you to
know how
much pain
I went
through on
the cross.
But you
do not
remember what
you have
heard.
You have
blocked the
gospel from
going to
your ears
because you
have heard
it all
before and
you think
you know
it.
Would
Jesus say
you have
become a
hollowed out
husk of
a Christian?
See the
problem is
we're prideful.
We sin and
say that
everything is
okay.
Have you
heard of the
miracle of
the car park,
the church
car park?
This is the
miracle where
as a family
you're in the
car on the
way to church
and you're
having a
massive argument.
It could be
about anything.
The colour
of the
sheets,
whatever it
is.
You're
having this
massive
argument.
As soon as
you get to
church,
you're putting
your happy
faces.
Everything's
fine.
We're
Christians.
We're
wonderful
people.
We're
always fine.
You go
to church,
you pretend
everything is
fine and
normal in
your house,
you get
back in
the car and
as soon as
you're out on
the street,
that argument
starts again.
It's just
pride.
It's the
sin of
Sardis.
We think
we've got
everything
together.
We think
that
everything's
fine.
We don't
want to be
honest and
reveal our
sin to
other people.
That would
just be too
humiliating.
We think
we're alive,
but really
we're in
trouble of
being dead
because we
won't confront
our own
sin.
Repent
of your
sin.
You don't
have to
pretend
everything is
alright,
especially when
you come to
church.
If you can't
be honest
with the
people at
church who
go through
the same
thing and
love you,
how are
you going
to do
it in
the rest
of the
world?
If you
want to
confess,
you can
come up
the front
after church
and pray
with us.
Because
Jesus doesn't
want a
church who
appears healthy
on the
outside,
but he
wants honest
people who
through his
love and
grace consider
their actions,
consider their
hearts and
repent.
sin.
They turn
away from
their sin.
They don't
just look
healthy on
the outside
but are
fakes,
but are
honest before
God.
Let me be
completely honest
with you.
Removing
sin and
turning to
God, it's
hard.
It hurts.
It hurts to
cut sin out
of our lives.
Let me tell
you another
story from my
life a little
bit more
recently.
I'm sorry if
this feels like
I'm confessing
all my sin to
you and I
just have
this urge
to tell you.
I hope you
can take
something from
the pain I've
gone through
and not go
through that
same pain
yourself.
Our household
is a smacking
household.
That's for
Isaac, our
two and a
half year old,
not for
Tamara, the
four week
old.
She's perfect,
she can't do
anything wrong,
so I'm sure
that will
change.
I'm not sure
what you think
of this.
If it's really
an issue for
you, we can
talk about it
later.
But we
think with
Isaac that
it helps
him to
understand the
seriousness of
some of the
things he does.
So if he's
trying to put
his fingers
into a fan,
we say,
Isaac, don't
do that.
If he tries
it again, we
say, Isaac,
don't do that.
That will hurt
you.
You'll lose a
finger.
There'll be blood
everywhere.
If you do it
again, we're
going to smack
you.
If he does it
again, we smack
him.
It had been
working well,
but until
recently, when
parenting Isaac,
I had let
sin creep in.
Sin had
climbed in
over the
walls and
attacked the
way I
disciplined him.
Instead of
smacking Isaac
out of love,
I began to
do it out of
frustration and
anger.
Things had
gotten more
difficult just
before we had
Tamara.
That's not an
excuse.
It's just
things had
tried my
patience
continually and
I was not
up to it.
Isaac was
still often
warned and
he still often
needed to be
smacked, but
I began to
let my
frustration and
anger show
when I
disciplined
him.
I was
confronted with
my sin before
God and I
thought, how
can I deal
with my
little son?
How can I
deal with him
in anger when
my God, my
father in
heaven who
loves me, sent
his son to
die for me?
How can I do
that to this
little boy?
So I decided I
couldn't do it
anymore.
I'm taking a
time off
smacking.
It's much
more labor
intensive.
I told
Alyssa this.
She had no
idea what had
been going on
inside me.
My sin was
hidden even
from my wife,
but not from
my God.
let's not
be a church
who pretends
everything is
fine, resting
on our
reputation that
we have.
Yeah, we're a
church that's
alive.
Let's not
rest on that.
Let's consider
our hearts and
do the painful
work through
God's grace and
through his
spirit of
cutting sin
out.
Watch out
for sin
creeping into
your life.
watch out
for your
brother and
sister.
If you
can't see
any sin in
your brother
or sister's
life, ask
them what
they're struggling
with.
What kind
of reputation
will you have
before God?
Will Jesus
say, you have
just gone
through the
motions, you
have not
loved me?
Will he say
that we are a
dead church?
Or will he say,
well done,
good and
faithful servants?
God's grace.
Let's pray that
we would allow
God's grace to
continue to work
in us so that
we can be more
like him each
day.
Let's pray.
Heavenly
Father, we
thank you for
your word.
We thank you
for the
warning to
Sardis and
the warning
to us.
Help us not
be complacent in
our sin.
Help us
consider our
hearts.
love you
and turn
aside from
everything that
gets in the
way.
Through your
son's name we
pray.
Amen.